The Security Bureau (SB) and its disciplined services and auxiliary services held a flag-raising ceremony, a national security knowledge challenge and other activities to mark the 10th National Security Education Day today.
The SB and its disciplined services jointly held a flag-raising ceremony at the Police College this morning.
Officiating at the ceremony, Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki said that the flag-raising ceremony instils passion and loyalty towards the country and the people as well as deepens the understanding of the responsibility and mission to safeguard national security.
He noted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to leverage the strengths of the National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance to build a strong line of defence to maintain security and stability in the Hong Kong SAR, and to provide solid institutional safeguards to promote good governance.
Mr Chan then officiated at the Safeguarding National Security Cup awards presentation ceremony to commend the contestants of the SB, disciplined services and auxiliary services for holding sports competitions, which showcased their vitality and unity to inject impetus to the promotion of safeguarding national security.
In the afternoon, the Department of Justice, the SB, the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Shine Tak Foundation jointly organised the finals and award presentation ceremony of the Territory-wide Inter-school National Security Knowledge Challenge 2024/25.
The events were held at a shopping mall for the first time to allow more students, teachers, parents and members of the public to participate. This year, an English section was also set up for the first time for non-Chinese speaking secondary school students.
The challenge attracted more than 126,000 students from 610 primary and secondary schools, an increase of over 20% in the number of participants compared to last year.
Chief Executive John Lee said in a video speech that June 30 marks the fifth anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the National Security Law in the Hong Kong SAR.
He stated that the Government will hold a series of activities to deepen public understanding of the pivotal role the legal framework plays in safeguarding national security as Hong Kong’s anchor of stability over the coming months.
Mr Lee emphasised that safeguarding national security is a constitutional duty of the Hong Kong SAR and a shared obligation of every Hong Kong citizen. He encouraged students to become guardians of national security by integrating the knowledge they gained about national security through the competitions into their daily lives and sharing it with their family and friends.
Also officiating at the ceremony, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam supplemented that he was delighted at the enthusiastic response to the competitions and encouraged young people to continue embracing safeguarding national security as their personal responsibility and to integrate into the country’s development.
The highlights of the finals and the award presentation ceremony will be broadcast at 10.30 tonight and April 20 on HOY Infotainment.
Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung and Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin meanwhile, jointly officiated at the launch ceremony of the new national security comic book Andy & Security Bear.
Produced by SB members, the comic series was published online as part of the National Security Law virtual exhibition from July last year and was well received for its charming characters and engaging storylines.
The SB brought the online stories to print and has distributed the first batch to over 2,000 schools and public libraries in Hong Kong by the end of March.
At the ceremony, Mr Tang and Ms Choi presented the comic books to the principal representatives of secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens.
To mark National Security Education Day, the disciplined services and auxiliary forces under the SB will hold open days on various weekends and public holidays this month.
