'Maintain vigilance against national security threats'

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said on Saturday that the public should remain highly vigilant against "soft resistance" and acts that "skirt the line". His remarks came ahead of the National Security Education Day on April 15. In an interview with Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po newspapers, Cheuk said safeguarding national security is a long-term battle and that it is crucial to bear in mind the lessons learned from 2019 'colour revolution' in Hong Kong. "Apart from the more conventional areas of national security concerns like political, military and homeland security, many non-conventional types of national security are also very important – such as financial, economic, social, cultural, technological, resource and data security, etc. Altogether there are 20 fields of national security," he said. "This is what we call a holistic national security concept." Cheuk noted that the international landscape is complex and volatile and that the geopolitical situation has seen enormous changes compared to a few years ago. Therefore, the public must have the right mindset towards national security and not let any external forces take advantage, he added. Edited by Cecil Wong