National Security Education Day

National Security Education Day
Observed by	China
Significance	Day to enhance the national security awareness
Date	15 April
Next time	15 April 2026 (2026-04-15)
Frequency	Annual
First time	1 July 2015

National Security Education Day is a holiday in China established in order to enhance the awareness of the citizens of the People's Republic of China on safeguarding national security. On 1 July 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the new National Security Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 14 of which stipulates that April 15 of each year is the National Security Education Day.

History

Since Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the top leader in November 2012, he has attached great importance to national security. ^[1]  He established the National Security Commission, which is led by the Party General Secretary himself. ^[2]  At the first plenary meeting of the National Security Commission, he put forward the holistic national security concept. ^{[3] [4]} Subsequently, the NPC Standing Committee actively promoted the legislation of the new National Security Law to replace the old National Security Law passed in 1993. ^[5] In order to better publicize and promote the holistic national security concept, the NPCSC stipulated that April 15 of each year would be the National Security Education Day when formulating the new National Security Law. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Hong Kong

On 15 April 2021, the first National Security Education Day, Hong Kong's disciplined forces marched together in Chinese style for the first time

15 April 2021 was the first "National Security Education Day" after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law. The opening ceremony of the "National Security Education Day 2021" was held in the Grand Hall of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the morning of the same day. The education day was hosted by the Committee for Safeguarding National Security and the theme was "National Security, Protecting Our Homeland - Improving the Electoral System and Implementing Patriots Governing Hong Kong". It aimed to "enhance the national security awareness of all Hong Kong citizens, create a strong atmosphere for safeguarding national security, and enhance the ability to prevent and resist security risks". The Hong Kong National Security Law stipulates that Hong Kong has the constitutional responsibility to safeguard national security and should perform its duties to safeguard national security, and that it should carry out national security education to enhance the national security awareness and law-abiding awareness of Hong Kong residents. ^[9]

National Security Education Day in Hong Kong, 2021

References

1. 陈文清 (2022-04-15). "牢固树立和践行总体国家安全观 谱写新时代国家安全新篇章". 共产党员网. Archived from the original on 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-03-06. 2014年4月15日，习近平总书记在中央国家安全委员会第一次全体会议上，创造性提出总体国家安全观……
2. "中共中央政治局研究决定中央国家安全委员会设置". 中国政府网. 2014-01-24. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
3. "习近平的国家安全观：既重视发展又重视安全" (in Simplified Chinese). 人民网-中国共产党新闻网. 2017-02-21. Archived from the original on 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
4. "关于总体国家安全观 总书记的这些论述指明方向". 共产党员网. 2022-04-14. Archived from the original on 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
5. "新国家安全法通过 揭秘为何再制定国家安全法" (in Simplified Chinese). 新华网. Archived from the original on 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
6. "安邦定国 重温习近平"总体国家安全观"的中国意蕴". 人民网 (in Simplified Chinese). 2020-04-15. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
7. "中华人民共和国国家安全法（主席令第二十九号）". 政策> 法律法规> 法律 (in Chinese (China)). 中华人民共和国中央人民政府. 2015-07-01. Archived from the original on 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2022-04-15. 第十四条 每年4月15日为全民国家安全教育日。
8. "每年4月15日为全民国家安全教育日". 新华网 (in Simplified Chinese). 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
9. Hong, ed. (2021-04-15). "「全民國家安全教育日2021」開幕典禮" (in Chinese). 香港: 香城公民媒體. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-15.