SAR govt ‘proactive’ in promoting Constitution

The special administrative region government will take diversified approaches to promote public education on the authority of the Constitution and its relationship with the Basic Law, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said at a high-level symposium held on Monday to mark the National Constitution Day.

The city’s No 2 official explained in his keynote speech that this approach was needed since the Constitution serves as a bedrock for Hong Kong as an SAR and for the Basic Law — the foundation for the city’s policies and systems.

The Constitution and Basic Law provide guarantee to Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, Cheung said.

Therefore the SAR government shares the responsibility to enhance public understandings on the relation between the Constitution and Basic Law, in a bid to help Hong Kong people establish their perception of the nation, according to Cheung.

The symposium is the first event Hong Kong organized to mark the National Constitution Day since the occasion’s establishment by the National People’s Congress in 2014. The venue was packed by senior officials from both the SAR and central governments, as well as experts from the legal sector and academia.

Huang Lanfa, deputy director of the Central People’s Government’s Liaison Office in the HKSAR, said the symposium was of great importance as it was the city’s first time to promote the Constitution.

He said it showed that the SAR government is enhancing the understanding of “one country”, which is the basis for “two systems”.

Delivering a keynote speech at the symposium, Huang then called on people in the city to comprehend the Basic Law under the premises of the Constitution, and the Hong Kong government to promote the Constitution and Basic Law in a regular manner.

The symposium, themed under the relationship between the Constitution and Basic Law, also drew legal experts to share their thoughts on the theme.

Wang Zhenmin, director of the Legal Affairs Department of the Liaison Office, noted that accurate understanding of the relationship between the Constitution and Basic Law would help to avoid attempts at isolating the Basic Law from the Constitution.

Besides understanding the relationship, Hong Kong people should also respect the country’s socialist political system and the ruling Communist Party of China, as these are stipulated in the Constitution, Wang added.