Xi Jinping is a president worthy of 1.4 billion people’s full support

Amid thunderous applause, President Xi Jinping was re-elected president of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission with unanimous support. All the delegates stood up, fully focused, feeling emotional and excited to witness President Xi take his oath to the 1.4 billion people across the country.

After a copy of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China had been delivered to the venue, President Xi read his oath in a solemn voice. When he read the part about striving to build a “modern socialist country that is prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful”, the applause from the delegates from across the country became even more thunderous. This is the dream of 1.4 billion Chinese people! It is believed that the delegates all hoped to use their applause to tell President Xi that they would do their best to support him in leading the country according to his great development plan for the next 100 years, opening up a new chapter in the new era and new journey for our country.

As a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress, I deeply feel President Xi’s care for Hong Kong. In his speech on July 1 last year, he made it clear that Hong Kong has a unique strategic position and can play an important historical role in the country’s development. I firmly believe that President Xi, facing a once-in-a-century opportunity amid unprecedented international pressure, has a clear plan for Hong Kong — for it to implement and promote the “one country, two systems” policy, making people around the world truly appreciate the greatness of this innovative model, which represents our country’s political inclusiveness and high level of tolerance.

As for Hong Kong, our first priority is to maintain national security and fulfill our responsibilities. We must educate Hong Kong society on the constitutional order under the “one country, two systems” policy, enabling residents to fully understand the country’s system and develop a genuine sense of national identity and love for our country from the heart. This will allow the city to better utilize its institutional advantages and not deviate from its intended path of “one country, two systems”.

I have great admiration for President Xi’s leadership in the new era, which fully demonstrates the socialist modernization of China’s legal system based on the rule of law and governance by morality. President Xi has repeatedly emphasized the importance of governing China by the Constitution, and the joy of experts and scholars who study the Constitution cannot be expressed in words. As a Hong Kong scholar who began studying the Constitution and the Basic Law at the Renmin University of China in 1987, I have witnessed the rise of the nation, especially in the past 10 years, during which Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has been fully demonstrated in the country’s governance system. In December 2022, President Xi stressed the importance of “writing a new chapter in the practice of China’s Constitution in the new era”, emphasizing that governing the country by law is of strategic importance for the long-term stability of the Party and the country.

In the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country’s goal of realizing socialist modernization by 2035 is reconfirmed.This requires both hard power and soft power. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, enjoying the strong support of the country, possesses unique advantages in finance, law and the convergence of Chinese and Western cultures in our system. We should strive to help the country break through the constraints imposed by foreign powers, fully support the country in developing multilateral trade relations, establish fair and competitive rules of the game, and assist the country in promoting the international influence of cooperation mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the BRICS countries, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We should also promote the work of the International Mediation Center to strengthen and enhance the advantages of Hong Kong’s free economy and free currency system.

I strongly support President Xi’s direction in promoting a community with a shared future for mankind, and I firmly believe that the HKSAR can make unique contributions in this direction and live up to the trust placed upon us by the country. I feel deeply honored to have had the opportunity to witness such a great historic moment and to vote for the re-election of President Xi. As a legal scholar and barrister, I am particularly grateful for having such a visionary and law-abiding leader to guide our country and 1.4 billion people into the future of the next century. I am full of confidence in the development of our motherland. Under President Xi’s leadership, I firmly believe that the people of the whole country will unite as one, overcome difficulties, become stronger in adversity, and fully support President Xi in leading the Chinese nation to new heights!

The author is a deputy to the National People’s Congress and a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.