According to the police report of the 2019 law-and-order situation, among the 7,549 people arrested in connection with the social unrest, 40.9 percent of them were students. The police said the percentage of arrested students had significantly increased after the school year began in September, and more and more of those arrested were young.

Lawrence Tang Fei, principal of Hong Kong's Heung To Secondary School (Tseung Kwan O), said that with the National Security Law for Hong Kong in place, local schools are able to stay away from politics and refocus on education.

He said that the mass participation of students in 2019 protests was affected by a social trend, but now the trend has been reversed. If some teachers again attempt to instill radical advocacy among students, their efforts will be in vain, Tang said.

For 18-year-old student Poon Sze-ki, her life at Hon Wah College on Hong Kong Island is a good case in point. Poon, who came from the Chinese mainland, found herself in a much friendlier environment at school.

More and more of her peers at school opened themselves to things related to the Chinese mainland and embraced different views. Some also told Poon they were interested in the life on the mainland that she shared.

Reviewing the effect of the National Security Law for Hong Kong during the past year, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor wrote in an article for Wen Wei Po on June 30 that the law marked "a major turning point" for the city. It has better protected not only the basic rights and freedoms of residents, but also made a historic move in improving the "one country, two systems", she wrote.