Chief Executive Carrie Lam has remained reluctant to give a clear answer on whether the slogan “end one-party rule” violates Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong.

It’s hard to simply give a “yes” or “no” answer given the complexity of the matter, Lam told the press before the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.

The meaning of the slogan depends on the context in which it is uttered and whether it is derived from a situation that may violate the existing legislations, Lam said. She added that the law enforcement agencies would gather evidence and forward it to the Department of Justice to decide whether a charge should be filed, before the courts take over at a later stage.

“End one-party dictatorship” is one of the five “operational goals” of the Hong Kong Alliance, the organizer of the city’s annual vigil in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. The slogan has been chanted over the past three decades during protests and candlelight vigils at Victoria Park, but authorities have banned both events again this year.

Meanwhile, Beijing-loyal groups and media continue to turn up the heat on the Alliance, blasting the slogan as “subversive.”

The national security law, which was enforced last summer, has had a significant impact on Hong Kong as well as on safeguarding “one country, two systems,” Lam said. She cited the four offences under the security legislation, saying any attempt to subvert the Chinese and Hong Kong governments should be deemed as a crime.

In addition, a review report will be submitted to Beijing by the end of June, following the first year of the implementation of the national security law, but Lam said it would not be made public.

Hong Kong is obliged to uphold both the Constitution of China and the Basic Law so as to protect the integrity of the country’s socialist system and Hong Kong’s capitalist system, she emphasized.

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