HONG KONG -- A senior Chinese official on Hong Kong affairs has said the current favorable situation in the region has been achieved through great effort, and deserves to be treasured and safeguarded, highlighting the importance of national security in the region's prosperity.

Only by firmly safeguarding national security can Hong Kong's stability be ensured, said Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

He made the remarks Saturday at the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day in Hong Kong.

Xia said safeguarding national security means protecting "one country, two systems," promoting the prosperity and development of Hong Kong, upholding the democracy and freedom of Hong Kong, ensuring the human rights and fundamental well-being of all Hong Kong residents, and defending the interests of all investors in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong people share a common desire for stability and peacefulness, prosperity and vitality, unity and solidarity, civilization and the rule of law, and they reject violence and chaos, decline and decay, division and strife, as well as barbarism and disorder, he said.