What were the local government staff in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region doing on Sunday, the day of the district council elections in the SAR?

As many as 30,000 of them from different government departments were working together to ensure the election process would take place smoothly. Of these, about 20,000 worked in the polling stations to assist voters and maintain order.

Do not forget the Hong Kong police. According to reports, each polling station had at least two police officers.

On the other hand, what were members of the opposition camp doing?

They were busy trying to create chaos. According to reports, they damaged the offices of as many as 300 pro-establishment candidates, cut their phone lines and internet access, and sabotaged their campaign activities.

They interrupted Starry Lee Wai-king, the chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, during a news conference on Sunday, and blocked Lee's vehicle from leaving for about 10 minutes.

It is easy to see how the Hong Kong government staff are protecting people's democratic right to vote, while the opposition camp was attempting to prevent people from exercising that right.

Whatever nice words the opposition camp in Hong Kong may utter, it does not alter the fact that it was using wrong measures to affect the election.

If the opposition camp claims the district council election on Sunday is their "victory", then they should list the shameless acts that were perpetrated to help them achieve that victory.

If any external force hopes to hype the "victory" of the opposition camp and drive a wedge between the HKSAR and the central government, it should abandon such thoughts. On Sunday, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the SAR's chief executive, appealed to every registered voter and stressed that their choice would be respected.

On Monday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang stressed the Chinese government's determination to defend the country's national sovereignty, security and interests, as well as to firmly implement the "one country, two systems" principle.

More important, Geng expressed the Chinese government's firm determination to oppose any external force intervening in Hong Kong affairs.

Whatever the election result is, Hong Kong is part of China and the bottom line will never be challenged. And the Chinese government's determination to defend the "one country, two systems" principle will never be shaken.

The election is the best evidence that the Hong Kong people's democratic rights have been ensured, while any external attempt to intervene in Hong Kong affairs will be defeated.

The author is a writer at China Daily.