Photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows the page of a website named National Security Education Day 2020. The website was launched Wednesday by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)
HONG KONG, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government's Secretary for Security John Lee said on Wednesday that the SAR and its people have the responsibility and obligation to safeguard national security and he called on the public to take part in maintaining the law and order of the society.
A website named National Security Education Day 2020 was launched Wednesday by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, when Lee and the SAR government's Commissioner of Police Tang Ping-keung introduced the work of the SAR government in stopping violence.
Lee said, as a part of the country, Hong Kong must play its part to safeguard the security of the SAR itself and it is even more important to prevent the SAR from being used as a springboard into other parts of China, which may affect national security.
"The SAR government departments are also committed to combating the budding of local terrorism," Lee said, adding that the SAR has a series of laws, such as the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance, to deal with Hong Kong's security and the common security of the country.
Lee emphasized that the public also have a role in safeguarding national security, including having a correct understanding of the principles and concepts of the Basic Law, "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy.
Tang said that from the perspective of Hong Kong, maintaining public order and social order is the most basic embodiment of safeguarding national security. Over the years, thanks to the joint efforts of the police and the public, Hong Kong's crime rate has dropped for 12 consecutive years since 2007, becoming one of the safest and most stable cities in the world. However, the situation has changed since last June, when violence has been intensified in a wave of protests.
The police has had initial success in stopping violence, combined with the COVID-19 epidemic, violent demonstrations have recently dropped slightly, Tang said. However, it does not rule out that the concept of extreme violence has infiltrated into Hong Kong.
In face of the threat of "local terrorism", the police will step up intelligence gathering and beef up the counter-terrorism unit, and educate Hong Kong people on the threat of terrorist attacks, Tang said, urging the public to join forces with the police to safeguard public order and national security.
