China held a high-ranking symposium on Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

Addressing the symposium, which was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, top legislator Zhang Dejiang called for comprehensive and precise implementation of the principle of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law.

Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), called the HKSAR Basic Law “a product of ingenuity of a great era,” which fully embodies the shared desire of all Chinese including Hong Kong compatriots and has demonstrated great vitality.

SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION

Enacted in accordance with China’s Constitution, the Basic Law specifies the guidelines of “one country, two systems”, and “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong” with a high degree of autonomy.

The Basic Law is a good law which accords the actual conditions of the nation and the HKSAR and is able to provide a fundamental guarantee for the great cause of “one country, two systems” and withstand the test of practice, Zhang said.

The practice of the Basic Law over the past 20 years shows that the fundamental purposes of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests as well as maintaining Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability must be adhered to in order to advance the cause of “one country, two systems,” Zhang noted.

BEST ARRANGEMENTS

HKSAR Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said at the symposium that the principle of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law are the best constitutional arrangements for both the HKSAR and the country.

With the combined advantages of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong can participate in the country’s major development strategies including the national 13th Five-Year Plan and the Belt and Road Initiative, while serving as a “super-connector” between the mainland and the rest of the world at the same time, Leung said.

The coordinated and joint development of the HKSAR and the mainland would not only improve their overall competitiveness, but provide the world new experiences of cooperation between regions of different systems, thus enriching “one country, two systems,” he said.

Elsie Leung, deputy director of the Commission for the HKSAR Basic Law of the NPC Standing Committee, said the implementation of the Basic Law has helped realize the “one country, two systems” concept, stabilize the relationship between the central government and Hong Kong, and clarify the legal status of the HKSAR.

As the Basic Law was well received by Hong Kong citizens, a seamless and stable transition has been achieved with Hong Kong’s capitalist system and life styles unchanged, its legal system improved, judicial independence ensured, democracy developing step by step, and external affairs in sound shape, she said.

TO CORRECT MISINTERPRETATIONS

Noting that some people have developed misunderstanding of the policy of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law, Zhang called for efforts in raising public awareness and correcting deliberate misinterpretation of the Basic Law.

“We should resolutely oppose statements and deeds that distort, challenge or even violate the Basic Law to uphold its unshakable authority,” said Zhang.

Zhang also stressed that power exercised by the HKSAR is delegated by but not separated from the central government and under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to challenge the power of the central government in the name of a high degree of autonomy.

The political system of the HKSAR is neither one of separation of powers nor a legislative-led or judiciary-led system, but an executive-led system with the chief executive at its core, Zhang explained.

Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability can only be based on accurate understanding and strict and full implementation of the Basic Law, according to Song Zhe, deputy head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION

National identity based on the Constitution is the core value for making and enforcing the Basic Law, said Han Dayuan, a law professor of Renmin University of China, urging efforts to promote the Constitution and make it a powerful guarantee for the prosperity, stability and sustainable development of Hong Kong.

Zhang also called for special attention on strengthening education of the young people in Hong Kong about the country’s national conditions and the rule of law to instill in them a strong sense of national identity, of being Chinese and the rule of law.

Ten people were trapped when a building under construction collapsed in Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong Province, Saturday morning, rescuers said.

Six of them have been pulled out of the debris.

The search and rescue is continuing.

The accident occurred at around 9 a.m. in Shaodong Village of Shizhong District.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Saturday said it has appointed Cai Qi as the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC, replacing Guo Jinlong.

Guo takes the post as deputy director of the Central Commission for Guiding Ethic and Cultural Progress, read a statement from the CPC Central Committee.

He will no longer serve in the CPC’s Beijing municipal committee and its standing committee, it said.

A new database portal of poverty reduction cases was launched in Beijing on Friday, aiming to share innovative and successful approaches and solutions from China and other developing countries and contribute to the global fight to end poverty.

The Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database (http://case.iprcc.org.cn/) serves as a portal for South-South knowledge sharing. It presents cases in a user-friendly way, while also allowing users to upload their own cases, thereby creating a truly global poverty reduction database.

It was launched on Friday at the 2017 China Poverty Reduction International Forum held in Beijing, attended by officials and representatives from international organizations, embassies as well as businesses.

Guo Weimin, the vice minister of the State Council Information Office (SCIO), said China’s experiences in poverty reduction were intellectual treasures that could be shared with the world, adding, “There are still more than 800 million people living in extreme poverty in the world today. Poverty reduction requires a global strategy. We should work together to realize zero poverty by 2030.”

The forum could be a new starting point for in-depth communication and exploration to reach consensus and assemble the global will and power to establish a new pattern for poverty reduction.

Chen Zhigang, the deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said China’s experiences on poverty reduction was playing a very important role in the world that could not be ignored.

Launched by the Global Poverty Reduction & Inclusive Growth (GPIG) Portal and managed by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC) and the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), the database portal draws great benefit from a strong network of contributors.

While the IPRCC takes a lead on the Chinese side by leveraging its own resources and partnering with universities and research institutes, many international organizations also play their part. With main contributions from the World Bank, the portal has also developed partnerships with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as well as more than 40 global think tanks and research institutions to contribute to the case database. The public are also encouraged to upload cases that could be valuable.

Bert Hofman, World Bank country director for China, Mongolia and Korea said, “China has achieved phenomenal success in reducing poverty, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty between 1981 and 2015, the fastest rate of poverty reduction ever recorded. China’s experience in poverty reduction can offer useful lessons to other developing countries.”

Bekele Debela, the program leader of World Bank said, “This is a very resourceful platform. And its resourcefulness is also because it is based in China that has abundant experience in poverty reduction, it will serve both China and the rest of the world.”

Meanwhile, Vincent Martin, FAO Representative in China and DPR Korea, declared, “Invaluable poverty reduction policies and know-how generated in China and elsewhere should be made available to the international community to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In that regard, the launch of the online case database is a key step forward, and innovation should be embedded in the sharing of policies and best practices.”

“China’s experience clearly contains lessons for alleviating poverty that other developing country can learn from,” said Benedict Bingham, the country director of PRC Resident Mission, ADB. “I am therefore delighted that IPRCC is launching a platform, which ADB has helped initiate, to share poverty reduction experience in China and other countries.”

“It is important to learn about what has worked well in reducing poverty, beyond ensuring stable macroeconomic environment and pursuing broad structural transformation agendas. Poverty reduction requires well-targeted strategies to tackle the needs of the most vulnerable,” he said.

Shozab Abbas, the political counsellor of Pakistan Embassy to China, told China.org.cn he believed it was a very important platform, with China being the leading country in alleviating poverty, so Pakistan would like to listen to and learn from China, while the two countries could collaborate with programs in this area in the future.

The online case database was launched at the 2017 China Poverty Reduction International Forum held in Beijing, aiming to share experience and discuss practical solutions to poverty.

The event was jointly organized by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC), the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), the World Bank, FAO and ADB.

Beijing will continue to increase the supply of rental housing in the next five years, during which 1,300 hectares of land will be supplied for 500,000 sets of rental housing.

The rental houses, which will be mostly built on collectively-owned land, will be rented in bulk at market price by the municipal government and then offered to low-income families at affordable housing prices with a term of ten years. The government will fill the gap in price.

On May 24, a total of 927 sets of rental housing in Tangjialing of Haidian District, which are of the first batch of pilot projects, was officially opened to low-income families in the district for on-site house selection and contract signing.

Since 2011, Beijing has rolled out pilot project of rental housing on five collectively-owned areas, providing 12,800 rental houses to staff working at nearby industrial parks, migrant workers and urban low-income families.