HONG KONG - The National Security Law in Hong Kong ensures the steady practice of "one country, two systems" and protects the long-term prosperity of Hong Kong, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chief secretary for administration of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, wrote in a blog on Sunday.

Canada-based Fraser Institute recently ranked Hong Kong as the world's freest economy in the Economic Freedom of the World 2020 Annual Report. This is an unambiguous recognition of Hong Kong's steadfast commitment to building a free economy with a level playing field, Cheung said in his blog.

However, it is regrettable that Fraser Institute concluded, from biased comments and unfair speculations based on selective ungrounded views, that Hong Kong will see lower scores in the rule of law area in the future, he said.

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Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung pointed out in a blog post that the right to freedom of expression and the right of peaceful assembly are well protected in Hong Kong under the HKSAR Basic Law; however, these rights and freedoms are not absolute

He pointed out that the right to freedom of expression and the right of peaceful assembly are well protected in Hong Kong under the HKSAR Basic Law; however, these rights and freedoms are not absolute.

Safeguarding national security through legislation is in line with international practice, and every country has laws and duty to safeguard its national security and sovereignty, Cheung said.

Cheung also noted that with the support of the mainland nucleic acid test support team, the COVID-19 testing capacity has been largely enhanced in Hong Kong in a short period of time, allowing the HKSAR government to launch the Universal Community Testing Program.

As of Sunday morning, more than 1.66 million samples had been collected under the program, with more than 20 samples tested positive.

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Cheung said that in the face of the epidemic and the global economic recession, Hong Kong's economic situation in the coming year is not optimistic. The HKSAR government will soon launch a new round of anti-epidemic funding to ease the burden of people and industries that have been affected by social distancing measures.

Financial Secretary of the HKSAR government Paul Chan Mo-po, in his blog on Sunday, called for expediting the process of launching a local health code system.

If the epidemic in Hong Kong is brought under control, a health code system could be introduced to facilitate travels between Hong Kong and the  mainland and other areas, which will help speed up the recovery of the local economy, Chan said, urging those who still have not got tested to join the universal screening to combat COVID-19.