“In future, the [local] government will ... strictly enforce the law against any acts for Hong Kong independence that breach local laws.”

In the Xinhua interview, Lam also said her administration would explain to the public the harm separatism could do to the stability and prosperity of the city, especially the impact on children and teenagers.

During the chief executive election in March, Lam stated her hope for local youth to become a generation who would have affection for Hong Kong, a sense of national identity and a global vision at the same time.

Asked to elaborate on her remarks, Lam said: “An affection for Hong Kong and a national identity are not mutually exclusive. We can let children learn more about Hong Kong’s history, culture, politics and social development, and at the same time we must make them have their national identity.”

To achieve this, she proposed instilling the idea of “I am Chinese” in children starting from kindergarten, and making Chinese history a compulsory subject in junior secondary-school level.

Ip Kin-yuen, lawmaker for the education sector, said existing Education Bureau guidelines already suggested kindergartens should introduce to students the concept of being Chinese, but he questioned Lam’s emphasis.

“Her stress on the need for reinforcement leaves people wondering whether there’s something more. Will children be taught to glorify the regime, for example?” Ip asked.

Law added that people enjoyed freedom of speech and should not be prosecuted for merely talking about independence.

Occupy Central was the “greatest power struggle” since the handover, Chen told Hong Kong media, as protesters were challenging the authority of the national legislature’s decision to impose a tight framework for democratic reform in the city.