Be part of Chinese Dream

Apart from swearing in the leadership team of the fifth-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and conveying the central government's best wishes to the SAR on the 20th anniversary of its establishment, President Xi Jinping also delivered a significant message during his three-day trip to the SAR: Ensuring successful implementation of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong is a vital component of the Chinese Dream.

Given the steadfast determination of the central government－as well as the Chinese people－to achieve this dream of national rejuvenation, the president's latest remark on Hong Kong's role is nothing short of a reaffirmation of the SAR's significance and relevance in national development in the years ahead. This will undoubtedly give a timely boost to Hong Kong people's confidence in the SAR's future. This has been somewhat clouded by social divisions caused by political squabbling as well as some deep-seated socio-economic problems that have surfaced in recent years.

The central government's unwavering commitment to the "one country, two systems" policy, as reaffirmed by Xi, is beyond question. This innovative political framework is the very foundation of the SAR's long-term prosperity and stability; and a successful Hong Kong is not only in the best interests of the 7 million local residents but also of the whole nation.

With this in mind, most Hong Kong people should have no difficulty understanding the top State leader's repeated emphasis on the need for the SAR to accurately and fully implement "one country, two systems". This is particularly true when they take note that some anti-China forces operating in Hong Kong have been trying to distort the original intent of this unique political framework, and to misinterpret the Basic Law supporting it, to advance their own political agenda.

For those few who are bent on undertaking political endeavors that endanger national interests or challenge the power of the central government and the authority of the Basic Law of the SAR, the "bottom line" warning the State leader flatly issued in his speech after Saturday's inauguration ceremony of the fifth-term government of the HKSAR would hopefully give them a resounding wake-up call.

Aside from the need for accurate and full implementation of "one country, two systems", Xi also repeatedly emphasized during his stay in Hong Kong the importance of the SAR focusing on development as its top priority. Understandably, further economic development is the only way for Hong Kong to solve once and for all some of its deep-seated problems. Politicization can only further divide society, hindering economic and social development.

To be sure, Hong Kong faces a rising number of challenges including widening wealth and income disparities, a housing and land shortage and slower upward social mobility. But these will prove to be merely little bumps on the road of its social and economic development. The SAR has coped well with challenges and difficulties that emerged in the past two decades no matter how seemingly insurmountable they once were. It will continue to do so as long as Hong Kong people work together with a common vision－for a better Hong Kong and a better nation.