The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, delivered a keynote speech.
The Chief Executive cum the Chairman of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu, attended the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day on 15 April 2024. Mr John Lee Ka-chiu (back row, eighth right), Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and National Security Advisor of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zheng Yanxiong (back row, eighth left), together with other officiating guests and the outstanding students of the National Security Education Study Tour and the “Territory-wide Inter-school National Security Knowledge Challenge”.
This year is of great significance as it marks the 10th anniversary of a holistic approach to national security put forward by President Xi Jinping, and also the first National Security Education Day after the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance has taken effect in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
The National Security Education Day of this year was themed on the “10th Anniversary of a Holistic Approach to National Security”. Held on 15 April 2024 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the opening ceremony cum seminar of the event was hosted by the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the National Security Committee) and supported by the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LOCPG) and the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OSNS).
The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, together with the leading officials of his office in Beijing via video link. Approximately 1 500 participants, including Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux of the HKSAR Government, Heads of Departments, and representatives from various sectors of society, attended the event.
In his keynote speech, Director Xia Baolong said that to realise the transition “from stability to prosperity”, the HKSAR must meet five needs: (1) the need to firmly safeguard the bottom line for national security; (2) the need to steadfastly implement “One Country, Two Systems”; (3) the need to consolidate and make the best use of Hong Kong’s unique position and advantages; (4) the need to better integrate into the national development; and (5) the need to proactively adapt to new situation and new challenges while embracing new responsibilities.
Director Xia pointed out that everyone must actively adapt to the development trends of the times, keep pace with the changing times, and actively identify, respond to, and seek changes, opening up new horizons for Hong Kong’s development amidst the changing landscape. The essence of Hong Kong’s transition from stability to prosperity is a path of innovation and change.
The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong (centre), together with the leading officials of his office in Beijing, attended the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day via video link.
The Chief Executive cum the Chairman of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu, delivered a keynote speech.
In his keynote speech, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR cum the Chairman of the National Security Committee, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu, pointed out that the HKSAR Government would implement the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in four areas. These include making continuous efforts to brief the community; reviewing and strengthening internal systems; sparing no effort in enhancing the executive capability on preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for national security offences; and strengthening national security education. To realise the transition “from stability to prosperity”, the HKSAR will focus its efforts on pursuing economic growth, advancing development, improving people’s livelihood and bringing fulfillment to the people.
In addition, Director of the LOCPG and National Security Advisor of the National Security Committee, Mr Zheng Yanxiong, pointed out in his speech that the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, as well as the OSNS and the National Security Committee are the “dual legislation and dual enforcement mechanism” indispensable for the rule of law system in Hong Kong.
Head of the OSNS Mr Dong Jingwei delivered a speech entitled “Implementing a Holistic Approach to National Security Upholding Hong Kong Long Term Prosperity and Stability”. Director Dong said the OSNS would work with the HKSAR to fully and faithfully implement the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
Following the opening ceremony, a seminar titled “Security is a pre-requisite for development: The remarkable implication of the passage of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance” was held the same day.
Meanwhile, Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux of the HKSAR Government showed their support to the National Security Education Day in various articles. Among them, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan remarked that Director Xia’s advice was also applicable to the day-to-day work of the civil service. The Civil Service Bureau and its Civil Service College have in recent years strengthened the training both in terms of quality and quantity to enhance civil servants’ understanding of the constitutional order and national security. As an integral part of the HKSAR’s governance system, civil servants have the obligation to acquire an in-depth understanding of the concepts of national security and fully support the HKSAR Government in fulfilling its responsibility of safeguarding national security.
The first National Security Education Study Tour was held, in which 75 teachers and students from 17 secondary schools had visited Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou to gain a first-hand understanding of the importance of different fields of national security and the significance of “national security as the bedrock for Hong Kong’s security, home security and people’s security”. The Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Nong Rong (front row, centre); the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin (front row, seventh left); the Secretary General of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Sonny Au Chi-kwong (front row, seventh right), and members of the study tour attended the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Study Tour in Beijing on 29 March 2024.
The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam Ting-kwok, hosted a seminar. Mr Paul Lam Ting-kwok (first left), with Vice-Chairperson of the Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) and Deputy Director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPCSC, Mr Zhang Yong (second left); the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung (third left); Mr Grenville Cross, SC (third right); the Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Dr Peter Lam Kin-ngok (second right); and the then Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Betty Yuen So Siu-mai (first right), at the seminar.
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan Mo-po; the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam Ting-kwok; the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong Wai-lun; the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan; the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung Yun-hung; the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak Mei-kuen; and the Secretary General of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Sonny Au Chi-kwong, visited different schools on or before 15 April 2024 to understand the implementation of national security education activities in schools and interacted with teachers and students.
As for other activities, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in collaboration with a few tens of government bureaux, departments, organisations, 18 districts, and youth uniform groups, has launched approximately 90 activities. For more details, please visit the following website.
