Liaison office chief says Constitution is key

Luo also noted that with the implementation of the National Security Law, Hong Kong's constitutional order has gradually been restored.

Yet he emphasized that to further strengthen the SAR's ability to safeguard national security, many provisions of the security law should be transformed into systems and mechanisms for law enforcement and judicial organs to implement, and also codes of conduct for the general public to abide by.

He urged the city's public officers to take the lead to promote education of the Constitution and Basic Law, especially among youngsters.

A key function of the Constitution is to safeguard national security, which the SAR is duty-bound to protect, Luo said.

The fundamental purpose of "one country, two systems" is to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as ensuring Hong Kong's long-term stability and prosperity, he continued.

Without proper safeguards for national security, there is no "one country, two systems" to begin with and hence no stability and prosperity for Hong Kong, he concluded.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, also speaking at the seminar, underlined that safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the bottom line of "one country, two systems", and Hong Kong has a clear duty to safeguard national security.