Hong Kong to create domestic version of national security law

Four-week consultation for 110-page-long proposed law to end on 28 Februray

The Hong Kong administration on Tuesday announced it would implement a new domestic national security law targeting espionage, treason, and foreign collusion in a move to tighten its grip on dissent.

The city's chief executive John Lee said the proposed Article 23 would be added to Hong Kong's mini-constitution and co-exist along with the Beijing-imposed national security law.

A four-week public consultation for Article 23 would begin on Tuesday, he said, adding that the government would attempt to pass the law "as soon as possible" without providing a precise time frame.

"Why now? We can't wait. I've said it very clearly. We can't afford to wait. It's for 26 years we've been waiting. We shouldn't wait any longer," Mr Lee said, describing it as the city's constitutional responsibility dating back to its 1997 handover to China from British colonial rule.

"While we, society as a whole, looks calm and looks very safe, we still have to watch out for potential sabotage, undercurrents that try to create troubles," he said, arguing that some foreign agents could still be active in Hong Kong.

He said the 110-page consultation document would be submitted to the Legislative Council on Tuesday, and the consultation would end on 28 February. Freedoms would be safeguarded and the laws would meet international standards, he added.

The legislation was initially proposed in 2003 but was shelved following a public backlash and mass protests that forced the resignation of the then security minister.

A year after the 2019 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, Beijing imposed a draconian national security law that made alleged crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

China critics accused the city administration of weaponsing the law to throttle dissent by arresting nearly 300 people, mostly activists and lawyers.

The new bill outlined the need for new and updated laws covering the theft of state secrets, espionage, treason, sedition and sabotage, including the use of computers and electronic systems to conduct actions endangering national security. Tighter control of foreign political organisations linked to the city is also advocated.

The consultation document warns that Hong Kong is under increasing threat from foreign espionage and intelligence operations, and cites the months of pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019.

It notes that China and Hong Kong are "unavoidably subject to acts and activities endangering national security conducted by the agents or spies of external forces (including external political organisations or intelligence agencies)" in the city.

It defines a list of state secrets in Hong Kong, including economic, scientific and social secrets but says to be classed as such they would have to endanger national security if released.

Amid public concern over the proposed law, justice secretary Paul Lam said the law-abiding resident would not have to worry about inadvertently violating national security laws under Article 23.

"The proposed legislation will clearly define the elements of the relevant offences, including criminal conduct and intent, and will be targeted precisely at acts that endanger national security," he told reporters.

"We are considering including appropriate exceptions and defence provision so that law-abiding residents do not have to worry about inadvertently breaking the law."

Legal scholars say as local laws, the new legislation could sharpen the at times vaguely worded 2020 law, and older colonial-era laws considered unworkable.

"It almost certainly will set red lines where the existing laws are vague, particularly in defining state secrets and espionage,” Simon Young, a professor at the University of Hong Kong's law school, told Reuters.

Tougher penalties against sedition, a colonial-era law which currently carries a two-year sentence, are also expected in the package.