At a meeting with the press after the 21 July protest where protesters defaced the national emblem and mobs attacked commuters inside Yuen Long station, Lam denounced both the protesters and the white-clad group of attackers. She condemned the protesters who had defaced the national emblem for hurting the one country, two systems principle and national pride. On a question regarding a government statement that the questioner regarded as a "mild description" of the Yuen Long attack, Lam said that the government had "not [been] in possession of [facts regarding] all the actual situation on the ground". When asked about whether the safety of citizens was more important than the defacing of the national emblem, Lam responded by saying that ensuring public safety was important, but she believed that citizens will agree that "it is important and maybe even more important that the "one country, two systems" principle can continue to be successfully implemented."