Hong Kong leader John Lee said the city must defend itself against “destructive forces that offer easy resistance” on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the handover of the British colony to China, News.ro reported with reference to France Presse.

John Lee said Hong Kong is now “largely stable” but is still a target for countries opposed to China’s rise.

“There are also destructive forces leading soft resistance hidden inside Hong Kong,” the former security chief added. “Therefore, we must remain vigilant and take the initiative to protect national security.”

Britain ceded its former colony to China in 1997, giving way to a 50-year-old governance model called “one country, two systems” that was supposed to guarantee basic freedoms and a degree of autonomy.

Until 2019, July 1 was an occasion to showcase the freedoms the city enjoys compared to mainland China, with thousands of residents marching in conjunction with the holiday to voice their political and social demands.

But these, like all gatherings, have been banned by the police for the past two years, officially on health and safety grounds.

According to government critics, the national security law, which Beijing introduced in 2020 after the 2019 protests, reduced the promised freedoms to zero.

Since the law came into effect, many opposition figures have been in prison or in exile.

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On Saturday, the streets were quiet, the police said that they had not received any applications for the march.

According to local media, more than 6,000 police officers are deployed to maintain order in the city.

Five activists told AFP that the authorities “reminded” them not to organize demonstrations on July 1 or the eve of the anniversary.

In his speech, John Lee also said the financial hub, whose economy has been hit by severe restrictions imposed during the pandemic, is on a “fast track to return to normal”.

Responsible for Hong Kong’s security during the 2019 protests, Lee was inaugurated as the city’s leader on July 1, 2022, after running unopposed and backed by Beijing.

He said he expects GDP growth of “around 3.5-5.5%” in 2023.

China’s Special Administrative Region (SAR) has followed Beijing’s so-called “Covid zero” policy for nearly three years, at the cost of family separations, tourism shutdowns and business being hit hard.

However, the city has faced one of the highest Covid-19 death rates in the world – mainly due to low vaccination rates among its residents, especially the elderly.