The Territory-wide Inter-school National Security Knowledge Challenge held its finals and awards presentation ceremony today to commend the winning students’ outstanding performance in the challenge.

Chief Executive John Lee said in a video speech that he believed the students have enriched their understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law, the National Security Law (NSL) and the holistic view of national security as well as increased their awareness of the responsibility in safeguarding national security through participating in the challenge.

He pointed out that the Basic Law Article 23 legislation is an integral part of safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, enabling the Hong Kong SAR to have a more comprehensive and effective legal system to safeguard national security.

Mr Lee also highlighted that the Basic Law Article 23 legislation will be a new area of national security education and that the Hong Kong SAR Government will proactively take forward the relevant work. He encouraged school principals, teachers and parents to lead by example and together deepen students’ understanding of the legislation.

Officiating at the presentation ceremony, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam pointed out that national security is a fundamental safeguard for upholding national sovereignty, security and development interests.

Mr Lam added that the promulgation and implementation of the NSL has brought a safer and more stable environment to Hong Kong as well as a better learning and upbringing environment for students.

He hoped that students would keep their interest and passion on national security, engage in continuous learning and active participation, and contribute to building a safe and stable environment.

Jointly organised by the Department of Justice, the Security Bureau, the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Shine Tak Foundation, the challenge aims to enhance students' understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law and the NSL.

It was conducted in the form of a quiz and divided into four sections, ie primary school and secondary school sections, both of which included team and individual competitions. Over 102,000 students from 585 primary and secondary schools participated in the challenge.