Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (fourth left) leads in officiating in the opening ceremony of the "National Security Education Day 2021" at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 15, 2021. Looking on are (from left to right) Major General Chen Daoxiang, Commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison; Zheng Yanxiong, Head of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR; Tung Chee Hwa, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Luo Huining, Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR; and Yang Yirui, Acting Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR. [EDMOND TANG/CHINA DAILY]

Thursday morning's opening ceremony of National Security Education Day kicked off a series of activities to mark its first celebration since the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong.

The ceremony was officiated by key officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the central government, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Luo Huining, the central government's top liaison official in the HKSAR.

Officiating the ceremony, Lam said two moves by the central government – enacting the National Security Law for Hong Kong and improving its electoral system – have stabilized the city's situation.

To better fulfill the SAR's constitutional obligation of safeguarding national security, a holistic approach encompassing various policy areas is needed, she said. The whole society should be mobilized to take part in such efforts, and civil servants have more important responsibilities in this aspect, added Lam.

She said she believes that with concerted efforts and if it can go back to the original intention of the Basic Law, the city will be able to properly implement "one country, two systems" and "patriots administering Hong Kong" policies.

Delivering his speech at the ceremony, Luo assured that the central authorities will lend full support to the HKSAR for its lawful crackdown on criminal activities endangering national security and to the individuals and institutions that have been subjected to threat and sanctions for safeguarding national security.