Aerial photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows citizens displaying China's national flag in Tamar Park in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua)
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government released a statement Monday to welcome a joint statement signed by the pro-development camp on appealing to the community to work together to engineer changes for a better Hong Kong.
A government spokesman said facing great challenges, all people in Hong Kong should discard their differences and work together to fight against the coronavirus and to help Hong Kong tide over the difficulties.
The spokesman said the government had been putting in place the most stringent measures to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic since January.
"To enhance Hong Kong's virus testing capability and increase its medical facilities as fast as possible, the HKSAR government has earlier sought the help of the central government, which is very supportive of HKSAR and has acceded to its request swiftly and proactively," said the spokesman.
The spokesman also pointed out that the government has put in place relief measures of the largest scale ever, totaling some 290 billion Hong Kong dollars (37.4 billion U.S. dollars) to provide support and relief to enterprises and residents.
The spokesman said Hong Kong's institutional strengths and core competitiveness are still intact despite the challenges, adding that under the "one country, two systems" arrangement, Hong Kong continues to be an international financial center and one of the best places around the world for doing business.
"We also play a unique and important role in China's national development strategies, in particular the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and the Belt and Road Initiative," the spokesman said.
With the implementation of the national security law, Hong Kong has not only quickly restored social and political stability, but is also poised for wider and greater development opportunities, the spokesman added.
An alliance jointly established by 42 political groups, social organizations and business chambers on Sunday appealed to the whole society to set aside differences and make concerted efforts to fight COVID-19 and support the HKSAR government in leading Hong Kong out of difficulties.
Besides political groups, members of the alliance also include Hong Kong Community Anti-Coronavirus Link, Friends of Hong Kong Association, HKCPPCC (Provincial) Members Association, Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, Hong Kong United Youth Association, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, and Real Estate Developers Association, among others.
