Constitution promotion now imperative

Young people urged to contribute to city's implementation of 'one country, two systems'

Top officials in Hong Kong on Wednesday stressed it is imperative to push ahead with education on the nation's Constitution and strengthen Hong Kong people's awareness of national identity amid protracted social unrest.

Political heavyweights from the central and local governments made the remarks at the city's third National Constitution Day forum. The day marks China's sixth National Constitution Day, which was set in 2014 to enhance social awareness of the Constitution.

Addressing the forum, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she would lead the SAR government to step up education on the Constitution and strengthen the awareness of national identity 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 Hong Kong society can realize that there is no "two systems" without "one country".

Lam's remark came as the prolonged Extradition Bill Incident has shaken the city's rule of law, with anti-China sentiment flaring up in the campaigns.

As of last month, about 40 percent of total 5,890 arrestees were students since the extradition bill incident broke out in June. The youngest one is only 11 years old among the 910 young people who were arrested, official figures show.

In addition, some 40 civil servants were believed to have been involved in unlawful assemblies or violent activities or openly discredited the "one country, two systems" principle since mid-June, according to complaints filed to the Civil Service Bureau.

Speaking at the same event, 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 the supreme legal authority across the country, including the SAR. To maintain the Constitution's dignity, authority and SAR's constitutional order is fundamental to ensuring the central government's overall jurisdiction and the SAR's high degree of autonomy, Wang pointed out.

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

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

The majority of Hong Kong people have been distressed by those crimes of violence, Wang said. He called on the Hong Kong people to firmly support the SAR government in governing in accordance with the law, support the Hong Kong police in strictly enforcing the law, and support the Hong Kong judicial bodies in punishing the 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.

A total of 650 guests attended the forum, including leading officials of the SAR government, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, cross-sector representatives, and more than 260 secondary students.

Contact the writers at jefferygu@chinadailyhk.com