HONG KONG, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Friday that the Hong Kong society must fully respect the Constitution, genuinely safeguard national security, and adhere to the norm of patriots governing Hong Kong.
Luo made the remarks when addressing an online symposium organized by the HKSAR government to mark China's seventh National Constitution Day falling on Friday.
Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the Constitution and the HKSAR Basic Law have been effectively implemented and the "one country, two systems" practice has also made enormous achievements, Luo said.
Only under the Constitution and the Basic Law, which jointly form Hong Kong's constitutional foundation, can the high degree of autonomy be implemented, the rule of law be upheld, and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability be sustained, Luo said.
National security is the top interest protected under the Constitution, Luo said, stressing that without national security, there will be no "one country, two systems" and no Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.
The national security law in the HKSAR has been effective over the past months and Hong Kong has entered a crucial period of returning to peace from chaos, Luo said.
He also noted that many articles of the national security law still need to be translated into a comprehensive mechanism, become a code of conduct for the general public, and be genuinely implemented by the executive, law-enforcing and judicial organs of the HKSAR.
Hong Kong has always shared the same destiny with the motherland and only under the governance of patriots, can Hong Kong achieve long-term development, Luo added.
The decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the qualification of HKSAR Legislative Council members set clearly the bottom line and political norm of "patriots governing Hong Kong", which ensures that political figures uphold the Constitution and the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the country and the HKSAR, and those who oppose China and create chaos in Hong Kong are out, Luo said.
He also called for constitutional education of public officers and the young people to ensure the public genuinely respects and abides by the Constitution and the Basic Law. Enditem