(Courtesy CCTV) — Hong Kong celebrates the 19th anniversary of its return to the motherland of China on Friday, with its chief executive expressing confidence for a better future.
A flag-raising ceremony marking the anniversary was held at the Golden Bauhinia Square in the morning.
Attending the ceremony were Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, and officials from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and from the central government. About 1,000 Hong Kong residents also attended the ceremony.
Leung said in a speech at a celebration party after the flag-raising ceremony that with the joint efforts from all social sectors, Hong Kong has maintained a sound fiscal conditions with low unemployment rate over the past four years.
He also said the real estate prices and rents have dropped and the supply of land and houses has been increasing remarkably. The recurrent expenditure for social welfare of this fiscal year reaches 66.2 billion yuan, up by 55 percent compared with five years ago. Meanwhile, poverty population has been on the decrease for the second consecutive year.
Leung said the Hong Kong government will continue to boost economy and improve people’s livelihood, and make continued efforts to safeguard Hong Kong’s core value and promote stability and prosperity.
“We will continue to implement the policy of ‘one country, two systems’,‘Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong’ and a high degree of autonomy in accordance with the Basic Law. Acting on what we’ve managed to achieve, we will continue to promote and extend positive exchanges, interaction and cooperation between people from all social sectors, all political groups in Hong Kong and central government and the mainland, and deepen mutually beneficial relations between Hong Kong and the mainland,” Leung said.
“I believe that as long as we make concerted efforts, Hong Kong is sure to develop sustainably and the Hong Kong people’s life will certainly be better,” he added.
The Chinese government resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, fulfilling the common aspiration of the Chinese people. (Courtesy China Central Television)