Basic Law Mechanism Should Be Improved: CPPCC Head

Beijing said on Thursday that the system and mechanism in Hong Kong in relation to the constitution and the Basic Law should be improved in the year ahead.

The instruction came from Wang Yang, the head of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), as he delivered his work report to the delegates.

Wang, the Chinese Communist Party's fourth-ranked leader, was speaking at the opening of the annual session of the advisory body at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"We supported the Hong Kong CPPCC members to give their voices and to avoid violence in Hong Kong and to restore order," Wang said.

"As to the US Senate and US Congress and their actions, like the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, we have made solemn statements to refute such lies," he added.

Wang went on to say that "members from Hong Kong and Macau shoulder their mission and responsibilities and improve the SARs' systems and mechanisms related to the constitution and Basic Laws."

President Xi Jinping and the more than 2,000 CPPCC members at the session had observed a moment of silence to pay tribute to those who have died during the Covid-19 pandemic, which began in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Xi and around 20 other top state leaders were not wearing face masks, unlike the hundreds of delegates in attendance.

Aside from the masks though, there were no other obvious social distancing measures in place for the session, with the members sitting side by side.