A Chinese national flag over the campus of Pui Kiu Primary School in Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong on September 2. Photo: Wang Wenwen/GT

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor denounced the repeated desecration of the Chinese national flag that continues to occur during recent unrest, saying at a routine press on Tuesday that the insults are a challenge to the nation's dignity.

Hong Kong police say there have been nine cases of defacing the Chinese national flag since June 9, and five people involved in five of the cases have been arrested. 

The incidents include ripping down flags from the Five Flag Poles at the Harbour City in early August, flags set aflame outside a swimming pool in Tung Chung and near the government complex in early September, and the desecration of flags by rioters in Tuen Mun and Sha Tin on Saturday and Sunday.

Lam noted that such behavior is unacceptable and damages the implementation of "one country, two systems," adding that the people involved will be dealt with according to law.

A boy and a girl, both 13, were arrested after the Chinese national flag was set on fire in Tuen Mun on Saturday. Many people, including Lam, were astonished that such young people have been accused of being involved.

"I am pained to learn that juveniles were involved in defacing the flags. Parents and teachers must teach them that politics is not that simple, and that law cannot be violated to fulfill political demands," Lam said at the press conference.