Falsehood #6: The legislation will erode Hong Kong's business environment and undermine its position as a global financial center.

The truth is: The legislation will improve Hong Kong's legal system and bring more stability, stronger rule of law and a better business environment to Hong Kong. It will bolster Hong Kong's position as a global financial, trading and shipping center.

◆Only when national security is ensured can the community in Hong Kong enjoy law and order and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability be assured. If Hong Kong is fraught with national security loopholes and plagued by social unrest, investor confidence will be eroded. The turbulence over the amendment bill since last year has cost Hong Kong the title of the world's freest economy, a title it had held for 25 years. Its GDP contracted for the first time in a decade and unemployment hit a record high in nearly 10 years.

◆The legislation will not affect the legitimate interests of foreign investors. It will afford better protection to their law-based operations and commercial ties, alleviate the grave concern in the local and foreign business communities about debilitating violence, and create a more reliable and stable law-based business environment for foreign investors.

◆In 2009, the Macao Special Administrative Region passed a national security law under Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR. Between 2009 and 2019, Macao's GDP grew by 153 percent, the number of inbound tourists increased by 81 percent, and the overall unemployment rate hit a record low in a decade.