Hong Kong’s leader has told protesters that they shouldn’t worry about a deeply controversial national security law being planned by China. Over the weekend, thousands of people took to the streets in a return to the mass protests seen in the city last year. They were voicing their anger about a new law that would ban treason, secession, sedition and subversion—though critics say it’s just China’s latest attempt to chip away at the city's freedoms. According to BBC News, Lam said Tuesday that it was a “responsible” move to protect the law-abiding people, and denied that it would restrict the city’s freedoms. “There is no need for us to worry,” said Lam. “In the last 23 years, whenever people worried about Hong Kong's freedom of speech and freedom of expression and protest, time and again, Hong Kong has proven that we uphold and preserve those values ... The best thing is to see the legislation in front of us and to understand why at this point in time Hong Kong needs this piece of legislation.”