The white paper said, "Under British colonial rule, there was no democracy in Hong Kong."

After resuming the exercise of sovereignty, the Chinese government implemented the policy of "one country, two systems" and established the democratic system in the SAR, it noted.

It has since provided constant support to the region in developing its democratic system. "The determination, sincerity and efforts of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government to this end have remained consistent and are obvious to any objective observer," it added.