Central government authorities have congratulated the SAR on the unanimous passage of its national security bill by the Legislative Council on Tuesday night. In a statement, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said the bill's passage safeguards the One country, Two Systems principle as well as the future prosperity of Hong Kong. So, what is the significance of the passage of the legislation from a national perspective? CGTN reporter Zhou Jiaxin spoke to Azam Khan from Beijing:

The Secretary for Security, Chris Tang, says he strongly disapproves of the untruthful and biased comments made by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron about the Article 23 bill. In a statement, Tang said his criticisms of the Ordinance showed his hypocrisy and double standards. He said the ordinance targets an extremely small minority of people who endanger national security, with the aim of protecting Hong Kong people's lives, property, freedoms and rights. The Foreign Ministry's office in Hong Kong also condemned comments from Britain and the European Union on the passage of the bill. Wendy Wong reports:

Hong Kong's two professional legal bodies representing barristers and solicitors have welcomed the enactment of Article 23 national security legislation. Kelly Yu reports:

Chief Executive John Lee says dozens of "strategic" firms, such as those specialising in AI, data science and fintech have recently set up or expanded in Hong Kong. Anne Chan reports:

Officials are looking at ways to label tobacco products so people can easily tell that they have not been smuggled in to the SAR. It comes after a dozen people were prosecuted in the past three years relating to the promotion of tobacco products. Damon Pang reports:

An anti-smoking campaigner says the government should ban menthol-flavoured cigarettes as well as enlarge non-smoking areas around Hong Kong, if it wants to lower the smoking rate here to below eight percent. Henry Tong, chairman of the Council on Smoking and Health, also says labelling duty-paid tobacco products is a feasible solution to counter the rise in smuggled cigarettes. He told Ben Tse that similar measures had been implemented overseas:

Australia's foreign minister says the country will prepare for a visit by Premier Li Qiang this year. Penny Wong was commenting after meeting Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, who is visiting Australia for the first time since 2017. As Natale Ching reports, it marks a diplomatic thaw between the two trading partners:

Fourteen people have been killed and 37 injured after a bus crashed inside an expressway tunnel in northern China. Azam Khan reports:

A financial analyst says the Fed's decision to keep its key lending rate unchanged at between 5.25 and 5.5 percent was within market expectations. But Alex Wong, Director of Alex KY Wong Asset Management, says it is surprising the central bank still planned three rate cuts this year, given the 'sticky' inflation the US is experiencing. He told Carol Musgrave it could take several months for the US to reach its two percent inflation target:

Mainland tech giant Tencent Holdings has posted a seven percent rise in fourth-quarter revenue - its lowest annual profit since 2019. In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said it intended to increase its annual dividend by 42 percent to HK$3.40 and at least double the size of its share repurchases from HK$49 billion in 2023 to over HK$100 billion. Robert Kemp reports:

Shares of French luxury goods group Kering have taken a hit after it warned its star label Gucci would see first quarter sales drop by about 20 percent due to weakness in Asia. The warning underscores the challenge the company faces as it tries to boost sales at Gucci - which account for half of group sales and two-thirds of profit. Hailey Yip reports:

Japanese indie rockers, Buddhistson, are making an emotional return to Hong Kong - not having played here since before the Covid pandemic. Music fans may also be interested in an award-winning Japanese fusion drummer, who is joining forces with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. This week in Broad Strokes, Ben Tse and Jacqueline Guico also look at the latest offering under Art March, which next week sees the largest and most anticipated international art fair back in full force: