HKSAR LegCo strongly condemns and firmly rejects the UK six-monthly report on Hong Kong
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo), through its spokesperson, today (March 27) strongly condemns the United Kingdom's (UK) publication of the "six-monthly report on Hong Kong: July to December 2025" (the report), and fully supports the statements issued by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the HKSAR Government to set the record straight. The report slandered Hong Kong's development, smeared the situation of Hong Kong society and its rule of law, human rights conditions, etc. Its content on the HKSAR LegCo Election and the work of LegCo is misleading, inaccurate and taken out of context. We urge the UK to fully comprehend the facts and genuinely respect China's sovereignty. We also request them to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs and political maneuvers. They should behave constructively and practically to facilitate exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and the UK.
Since the improvement of the electoral system in 2021 and the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", LegCo Elections have been successfully conducted in a fair, just and open manner, demonstrating broad representation and balanced participation of society. LegCo has now completely put an end to the past chaos of confrontation, internal strife, disorder and ineffectiveness. The Legislature has returned to the right track marked by rationality, efficiency and pragmatism. The legislative work has been taken forward in an orderly manner, helping the SAR Government continuously promote economic development and improve people's livelihood. Our achievements are evident to all.
LegCo is the sole legislature under the constitutional order of HKSAR and an important part of the SAR's governing team. It is a universally prevailing political tenet that legislators must be patriots. We strongly oppose any malicious denigration of Hong Kong's improved electoral system, which is clearly ill-intentioned and disregards the actual situation of HKSAR.
To enable LegCo to fulfil its constitutional functions in a more effective and efficient manner, all LegCo Members shall subject themselves to higher standards to strengthen self-management, self-supervision and self-improvement. The Code for Members of the Legislative Council ("the Code") was formulated, further setting out the standards for Members to perform their duties and the sanctions mechanism for dealing with Members' misconduct. They also voluntarily accept public and media supervision.
Under the executive-led system of HKSAR, the Executive Authorities and the Legislature perform checks and balances while at the same time complement each other. The Code requires Members to sincerely support the Chief Executive and the administration of the SAR Government in accordance with the law. While discharging their duties in a constructive manner, Members are expected to provide valuable insights and practical advice. They should not intentionally vilify the governance credibility of the Chief Executive and the SAR Government, nor should they deliberately undermine or weaken the effectiveness of executive-led governance. They should strive to strengthen the constructive interaction between the executive and the legislature. The Code was formulated with the consent of all Members. It also embodies a new landscape of the executive and the legislature working together with one mind to achieve good governance in Hong Kong. No one should take the Code out of context and denigrate the effectiveness of LegCo.
Regarding other parts in the report, as pointed out in the SAR Government's statement, the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL) in the past five years or so has enabled the livelihood and economic activities of the Hong Kong community at large to swiftly resume to normal and the business environment to be restored and improved continuously. According to the Economic Freedom of the World 2025 Annual Report, Hong Kong has once again been ranked as the world's freest economy. Hong Kong's ranking improved by two places to third globally in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2025. Also, Hong Kong continues to rank among the top three international financial centres and comes first in the world in terms of funds raised through initial public offerings in 2025. Hong Kong ranks the 24th out of 143 countries and jurisdictions globally in the 2025 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index. Its overall score (0.72) remained unchanged, matching the scores of the countries ranked 22nd and 23rd, and remains high in the overall ranking and continues to be ahead of some European and American countries which often unreasonably criticise the rule of law and human rights situation of Hong Kong. These internationally recognised achievements are built upon the freedom and stability brought to Hong Kong society by the HKNSL, other relevant laws of the HKSAR, and the work of safeguarding national security.
Source: AI-found images
