"Salute to the National Flag" Hong Kong and Macao Youth Flag-Raising Teams' Beijing Visit Delegation received by state leader
The "Salute to the National Flag" Hong Kong and Macao Youth Flag-Raising Teams' Beijing Visit Delegation, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, was received by Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Ding Xuexiang, at the Great Hall of the People today (September 21).
Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Ding Xuexiang, Photo source: reference image
The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, several guests, primary and secondary students and teachers and post-secondary students from Hong Kong and Macao, as well as representatives from the Association of Hong Kong Flag-guards and the Hong Kong Army Cadets Association, also attended the meeting.
Mr Chan expressed deep gratitude to Vice Premier Ding for personally guiding the Hong Kong and Macao youth and even more so to the nation for providing this valuable opportunity for students to take part in the solemn flagraising ceremony at Tiananmen Square and experience the historical culture and development achievements of the capital. He said that this was a rare and profound patriotic education experience. During the solemn flagraising ceremony, students felt the dignity of the national flag and anthem up close, deepening their understanding of the symbolic meaning of the flag, as well as national situation and development. Through a rich itinerary of visits, the students also gained a genuine appreciation of the challenges and accomplishments of the nation's journey from history to rejuvenation, further strengthening their national identity, the sense of national pride, affection for and sense of belonging to the country.
Mr Chan emphasised that the trip is of great significance for promoting patriotic education in Hong Kong's primary and secondary schools. In addition to textbook learning, bringing students into the sites of national history and culture allows them to experience emotions firsthand and deepen their understanding through real stories, which greatly contributes to patriotic education. The delegation's itinerary organically integrated national flag education, history education, cultural education and national development education, making patriotism more concrete, vivid and powerful in the hearts of students, guiding them to consciously safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and aspiring to become a new generation that loves the country and Hong Kong and is willing to take responsibility.
"Salute to the National Flag" Hong Kong and Macao Youth Flag-Raising Teams' Beijing Visit Delegation was received by state leader. Photo source: Xinhua News
HKSAR LegCo strongly condemns and opposes external forces' defamation and smears against court's sentencing in the "conspiracy to commit collusion" case of Wong Chi-fung
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
Multiple Western countries, anti-China media, overseas organisations and politicians have recently made untruthful remarks under the pretext of the court's sentencing in the case of Wong Chi-fung concerning the offence of "conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign countries or with external elements to endanger national security", defaming and smearing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) judicial system and national security laws, and attempting to deliberately distort Wong Chi-fung's criminal acts of harming the interests of the country and the HKSAR into personal political expression. A spokesperson for the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the HKSAR yesterday (November 6) stated that this is entirely a political manipulation aimed at confusing the public and misleading the public of Hong Kong as well as the international community. LegCo expresses resolute opposition against this.
The LegCo spokesperson emphasised that the court has clearly pointed out that Wong Chi-fung and Law Kwun-chung were the masterminds of the case, and the advocates at the forefront calling for foreign countries to impose sanctions or other hostile measures against Hong Kong. Before the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL), they had persistently colluded with foreign countries or external elements, actively and openly soliciting foreign countries to impose sanctions against China and Hong Kong. Following the implementation of the HKNSL, they continued to commit acts endangering national security. As stated in the HKSAR Government's statement, the Basic Law specifically stipulates that the judicial power, including that of final adjudication, vested with the HKSAR, is to be exercised by the Judiciary independently, free from interference. Regardless of the occupation, political belief or background of the persons involved in the case, all cases are dealt with in an equal and impartial manner. In this case, the court emphasised that the HKNSL does not have retrospective effect and that Wong Chi-fung was not punished for his pre-HKNSL acts or activities, nor for his political ideology.
The LegCo spokesperson pointed out that in this case, Wong Chi-fung has pleaded guilty to the charge and the relevant facts of the offence, and the court has also fully considered various legal principles and evidence before handing down its sentence in accordance with the law. However, some external forces with ulterior motives have disregarded facts and evidence, and under the pretext of this case, wantonly attacked the HKSAR's work in safeguarding national security, human rights, freedom and the rule of law, and even demanded the unconditional release of Wong Chi-fung and the withdrawal of his charges. The LegCo spokesperson emphasised that this is a serious undermining of the rule of law.
The LegCo spokesperson further pointed out that some Western countries have long used "human rights" and "freedom" as pretexts to make irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong affairs, which are purely China's internal affairs. Regarding the HKSAR's efforts to combat crimes endangering national security in accordance with the law, the standards they hold are completely different from those they adopt when dealing with severe social unrest in their own places. Such double standards completely violate international political ethics and are totally unacceptable, and are strongly condemned.
The LegCo spokesperson stated that since the implementation of the HKNSL and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, Hong Kong society has restored stability and prosperity, and has continued to rank among the top globally in various international business and competitiveness rankings, including maintaining its top ranking as the world's freest economy, ranking first globally in cross-border wealth management, and recording an increase in its global competitiveness ranking for three consecutive years to rank second globally this year. The latest data from the HKSAR Government shows that Hong Kong's gross domestic product in the third quarter of this year registered a notable year-on-year growth estimate of 5.2 per cent, and the economic outlook remains positive. Regarding the rule of law, the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation was established in Hong Kong last year, providing efficient mediation services for the international community; the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law has also recently established its Asia-Pacific Liaison Office in Hong Kong, further demonstrating Hong Kong's leading position as an international legal hub.
The LegCo spokesperson reiterated that it is an inherent duty for the HKSAR, including LegCo, to firmly safeguard national security, and once again urged the relevant Western countries, anti-China media, overseas organisations and politicians to squarely face the serious nature and objective facts of cases endangering national security in Hong Kong, and immediately cease interfering in China's internal affairs and HKSAR affairs.
Source: AI-found images
