Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), urged the city's residents to safeguard the "One Country, Two Systems" principle on Wednesday, stressing that "One Country" is the premise of "Two Systems." 

At a symposium to mark China's sixth Constitution Day, Lam said that the Constitution and the HKSAR Basic Law together form the constitutional basis of the HKSAR government. 

She expected that the Hong Kong society to understand the "special status" of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle.  

Meanwhile, she expected more efforts to popularize the education on the Constitution and Basic Law, so as to enhance the national awareness and identity of the whole society, especially for the officials and adolescents. 

"Hong Kong residents should safeguard One Country, which is the premise of the Two Systems. We should educate civil servants and young people to foster a stronger sense of national identity."  

Noting that Hong Kong has witnessed "unprecedented disputes and violence" since June, Lam emphasized the priority is to end violence and restore social order. 

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Safeguarding Hong Kong Basic Law

The symposium, the third of its kind held in Hong Kong to mark the national Constitution Day, was attended by several hundred people, including over 100 secondary school students. 

Wang Zhimin, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in HKSAR, pointed out at the symposium that to firmly uphold the constitutional order established by the Constitution and the Basic Law is the fundamental requirement for the comprehensive and accurate implementation of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, as well as the fundamental guarantee for Hong Kong to maintain prosperity and stability and for people here to live and work in peace and contentment. 

Han Dayuan, a law professor at the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, also called on Hong Kong to enhance young people's sense of national and constitutional identity as well as confidence in the "One Country, Two Systems" principle. 

One of the Constitution's significant contributions to our country's development is that it has provided a strong constitutional guarantee for the smooth return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland and for the implementation of the "One Country, Two Systems", he stressed.  

(With input from Xinhua)