BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been unswervingly fulfilling its constitutional duty and spared no effort to build an impregnable "iron wall" to safeguard national security in the region, a senior Chinese official said Friday.
Xia Baolong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks when addressing a high-level symposium marking the first anniversary of the enforcement of the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR.
Xia said the HKSAR government and its governing team have taken on the responsibility for fully implementing the law.
As of the end of June, law enforcement agencies in the SAR had arrested 117 core members of the anti-China forces on suspicion of violating the national security law and prosecuted 64 individuals, Xia noted.
Officials and patriots in the SAR have acted fearlessly in the face of illegal and groundless sanctions by the United States, he added.
The Hong Kong police have strictly enforced the law, investigating a number of cases of crimes involving national security.
Hailing their bravery against violence and chaos in the region, Xia said the Hong Kong police have lived up to their reputation of being the world's most outstanding police force.
People from various sectors of Hong Kong society who love the country and the city have shown their support for the national security law and fostered a strong synergy for safeguarding national security in the region, the senior official said.
The United Front Supporting National Security Legislation, a Hong Kong organization that consists of individuals from all walks of life, collected over 2.9 million signatures of local residents as a show of support in merely eight days, Xia said.
People from the international community who believe in upholding justice have also spoken up, lending powerful support to China's just position on safeguarding national security, he added. Enditem