The Hong Kong government should expedite the legislation of the city’s own security law, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam has said, adding that “some achievement should be made within this year, otherwise no later than next year.”
“Constantly changing risks to national security have brought challenges to the legislation [of Article 23],” Lam said on RTHK on Sunday, referring to the article of the Basic Law that stipulates Hong Kong shall enact its own laws to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the central government.
“Considering the increasingly complicated global political environment, Hong Kong should be very sensitive when drafting the law, in order to safeguard national security, ” Lam said.
It was at least the third time the justice chief has publicly talked about the legislation of Article 23 over the past month.
Lam said it was “reasonable and natural” to discuss Article 23 with Beijing officials before he set off a five-day trip to visit over 10 ministries in Beijing two weeks ago.
He said last month that Beijing had “handed a responsibility” to the Hong Kong government to legislate its own security laws, and that he “did not see any problems.” “People who are anxious [about it]… what are they afraid of? What did they hear that made them scared?” Lam said.
On Sunday, the justice secretary was also asked why some defendants had been refused bail under the national security law, and why it had taken a long period of time for some cases to proceed to trial.
In response, Lam said that there were a lot of procedures to deal with for each case. “It is to ensure the fairness of a hearing, not a waste of time,” he said, adding that the national security law did not deprive defendants’ the right to bail, with some successfully being granted bail.
The legislation of Article 23 failed in 2003 following mass protests. The government has always had enough votes to pass the law, but it has never been raised since the 2003 debacle. Pro-democracy advocates fear it could have a negative effect on civil liberties.
Lam also said on i-Cable on Sunday that companies running a database or service platforms should “review content on their server” and anything harming national security “should be deleted”.
The justice secretary last week applied for an injunction against 2019 protest song Glory to Hong Kong, the lyrics of which contain a slogan that has been deemed a call for secession. The court will hear the application on Monday afternoon.
Eye-openning
Following his Beijing visit, Lam last Thursday led a delegation of 20 people on a three-day trip to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in mainland China.
He visited the provincial government of Guangdong province, different courts in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and the headquarters of the tech giant Tencent in Shenzhen.
“During the visit to the mainland Chinese courts, I noticed that considering the quantity and results of cases, the courts are handling all quickly, efficiently, and innovatively, while also fulfilling people’s requirements for the rule of law. It was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, a truly eye-opening experience, ” Lam said on his Facebook.
Lam was referring to a scene from 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber that is used to describe someone who is overwhelmed by new, sophisticated experiences.
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