国内英语新闻:Eradicating national security threats allows Hong Kong to enter new era of good governance:

HONG KONG, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Matthew Cheung, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday that by eradicating threats to national security and improving the electoral system, Hong Kong is entering a new era of good governance.

Cheung said in his blog that national security is the foundation of development. The chaos in the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in the past made the administration of the HKSAR government difficult, revealing the loopholes in the existing electoral system of Hong Kong. This gave anti-China troublemakers opportunities to enter Hong Kong's governance structure, seriously disrupted the administration and jeopardized national security, sovereignty and development interests.

He said that stability and harmony in the society enable the HKSAR government to focus on addressing deep-seated social problems, smoothly carry out policies that benefit the country, Hong Kong and the people, and focus on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood.

Cheung said the HKSAR government is racing against time cooperate with the Legislative Council's deliberations and strives to pass a bill related to the electoral system before the end of next month, so as to carry out a large amount of preparation for the upcoming elections next year, including the Election Committee, the Legislative Council and the chief executive.

Paul Chan, financial secretary for the HKSAR government, said that without a safe and stable political and social environment, it is difficult for the economy to develop. National security is the premise of economic development, and economic development is the guarantee of national security.

Chan said Hong Kong has to build systems and mechanisms for secure development with bottom-line thinking, so that it will be capable of withstanding internal and external shocks and threats.

Chan said that last year, the central authorities closed the loopholes in national security in Hong Kong by law and improved the institutional guarantee for national security. This year, the central authorities further improved the electoral system of the HKSAR which enables full implementation of the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle, so that Hong Kong's national security system and enforcement mechanism can be further enhanced.