China issues white paper on HKSAR safeguarding national security, move welcomed as coming at ‘exactly the right time’
By Published: Feb 10, 2026 11:33 AM
Hong Kong SAR is full of National Day festive atmosphere on October 1, 2025. Photo: VCG
China's State Council Information Office on Tuesday released a white paper titled "Hong Kong: Safeguarding China's National Security Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems,” according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday morning, John Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, said the release of the white paper is “of great significance and has come at exactly the right time,” according to local media reports.
Lee said he had drawn three key understandings from the white paper – the struggle to safeguard national security in Hong Kong has never ceased, risks still exist, and constant vigilance is required; national security is a matter under the central authorities’ purview, and Hong Kong supports the implementation of the National Security Law at the national level; high-level security is needed to safeguard the development of the One Country, Two Systems endeavor.
The white paper delivers a stern warning to traitors who endanger national security, Lee said. Referring to the verdict in Jimmy Lai’s case, Lee noted that it shows Lai’s crimes were numerous and egregious, that he seriously harmed the interests of the HKSAR and the country, and that he shamelessly acted as a pawn of external forces. The ruling, he said, demonstrates justice being upheld.
The release of the white paper, shortly after the High Court of the HKSAR handed down a 20-year-imprisonment sentencing on anti-China instigator Jimmy Lai, carries clear significance in setting the record straight and articulate political and legal principles, thereby firmly rebutting unreasonable accusations from some West countries, a senior policy advisor in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Consisting of five parts in addition to a preface and a conclusion, the white paper details the unrelenting fight for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong and the central government's fundamental responsibility for national security matters concerning Hong Kong, Xinhua said.
In the white paper with over 12,497 words, it said the Chinese government is publishing this document to review Hong Kong’s endeavors in safeguarding national security and the experience and insights gained in the process, and also to clear up confusion and misunderstandings surrounding the issue to build consensus, and to ensure the high-quality development of the policy of One Country, Two Systems with high-standard security.
The white paper also reviewed the protracted fight around the local legislation on national security required by Article 23 of the Basic Law, the 2019 turmoil posed by the greatest challenge for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong, and how central government and local government responded to the 2019 turmoil including reinforcing the legal framework and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, improving the region’s electoral system and governance, and implementing the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong.
In the chapter III of the white paper, it reviewed the HKSAR’s achievement in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility for safeguarding national security including completing legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law, continuously improving Hong Kong’s legal system for safeguarding national security and taking strong law enforcement and judicial actions to safeguard national security
After the High Court delivered the sentencing on Lai’s national security case, some Western countries, as they routinely do, voiced opposition and raised so-called doubts. Against this backdrop, the central authorities released this white paper, which carries clear significance in setting the record straight, Lawrence Tang Fei, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Through this white paper, the full context of the matter is laid out clearly, and the relevant political ethics and principles of the rule of law are systematically clarified, fundamentally explaining how China as a whole, and the Hong Kong SAR in particular, have handled the issue in accordance with the law, Tang said.
The High Court of the HKSAR on Monday morning sentenced Jimmy Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong, to 20 years in prison.
Lai was found guilty in December 2025 by the High Court of the HKSAR on two charges of conspiring to collude with external forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials. Mitigation hearing for Lai's case began on January 12 and concluded on January 13, according to Xinhua.
The purpose of the white paper is also to elaborate on the central authorities’ primary responsibility and lawful practice in safeguarding national security in Hong Kong under the framework of One Country, Two Systems, and to make clear that no internal or external hostile forces will be allowed to undermine Hong Kong’s One Country, Two Systems, its prosperity and stability, or national security, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies who is also a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
“It also serves as a warning and deterrent to the US and Western forces,” Lau said, noting that given the severe and complex international situation, and the fact that some Western countries remain determined to contain China and will continue to use Hong Kong in various ways to endanger national security and the city’s security, the white paper in effect makes clear that the central authorities will not relax their efforts in safeguarding national security.
Multiple central government agencies expressed the support for the release of the white paper, hailing its far-reaching significance.
The white paper comprehensively reviews the course of Hong Kong’s efforts to safeguard national security, elaborates in depth on the central government’s principled positions on this issue, and systematically summarizes the experience and insights gained in safeguarding national security under the framework of One Country, Two Systems, a spokesperson from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said on Tuesday.
The white paper is of major and far-reaching significance for fully, accurately, and unswervingly implementing the One Country, Two Systems policy, further advancing Hong Kong’s work on safeguarding national security, and ensuring high-quality development of the One Country, Two Systems endeavor with a high level of security, the spokesperson said.
The white paper points the way for further advancing Hong Kong’s work in safeguarding national security and injects strong momentum into building broader consensus on using high-level security to ensure the high-quality development of the One Country, Two Systems endeavor, a spokesperson from the central government’s office for safeguarding national security in HKSAR said on Tuesday.
The liaison office of the central government in the HKSAR said on Tuesday that the white paper helps people gain a more comprehensive understanding that safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests is the highest principle of the One Country, Two Systems policy, develop a deeper appreciation of the situation, tasks, and practical requirements facing Hong Kong in safeguarding national security, and more accurately grasp the direction and pathways for implementing the holistic national security concept and using high-level security to ensure high-quality development.
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