Promoting Constitution imperative in HKSAR

Top officials in Hong Kong stressed on Wednesday the importance of pushing ahead with understanding of the nation's Constitution and strengthening Hong Kong people's awareness of national identity.

Political heavyweights from central and local governments made the remarks at the city's third National Constitution Day forum, an annual special day adopted to enhance social awareness of the Constitution.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor addressed the forum, saying she would lead the SAR government to continue to step up education on the Constitution and strengthen national identity awareness among teenagers and civil servants in the hope that the city can play its unique role in China's future development.

Through various educational activities about the Constitution and the Basic Law, Lam said she hoped the whole of Hong Kong society would get a clear understanding that there is no "two systems" without "one country".

Lam's comments follow protests that shook the city's rule of law in June after a non-withdrawn extradition bill was introduced.

Wang Zhimin, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, expected young people in Hong Kong to study the Constitution and Basic Law and contribute to the city's implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle.

Wang told the forum that the national Constitution has supreme legal authority across the country, including the SAR. Maintaining the Constitution's dignity and authority is fundamental to ensuring the central government's overall jurisdiction and the SAR's high degree of autonomy, he said.

Stability and prosperity

The Constitution also guarantees the city's long-term prosperity and stability, as well as the well-being of the Hong Kong residents, Wang said. If the constitutional order is disrupted causing chaos and mayhem, "the whole of society will have to pay a heavy price", he added.

The forum was particularly meaningful at this time, Wang said, as a small group of radicals in Hong Kong seriously undermined the "one country, two systems" principle and challenged the city's constitutional order during the past several months of violent protests.

The majority of Hong Kong residents have been distressed by these violent crimes since June, Wang said. He called on the residents to firmly support the SAR government in governing in accordance with the law, support the Hong Kong police in strictly enforcing the law and the Hong Kong judicial bodies in punishing violent criminals in accordance with the law.

A legal expert on China's top legislature told the SAR not to lose confidence in the "one country, two systems" principle.

Problems will be solved as long as the city faces up to its challenges, respects the Constitution and conducts constructive dialogues in legal and peaceful ways, said Han Dayuan, a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.