Hong Kong
Chief Executive of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the HKSAR government welcomes the passage of the law on safeguarding national security in the HKSAR.
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was passed earlier Tuesday at the 20th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature.
The HKSAR government welcomes the passage of the law by the NPC Standing Committee, Lam said in a statement released in the evening, adding that this national law has been listed in Annex III to the HKSAR Basic Law.
Hailing the legislation, Lam said the HKSAR government will complete the necessary procedure for publication by gazette as soon as possible to enable the implementation of the law in Hong Kong in tandem.
Ms Lam added that the legislation would fill a “gaping hole” and would not undermine its autonomy.
“The legislation aims to prevent, curb and punish acts of cessation, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security. These crimes will be clearly defined in the law,” she said.
“We will only target an extremely small minority of people who have breached the law, while the life and property, basic rights and freedoms of the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong residents will be protected.” Ms Lam also confirmed that the law would come in to effect today.
The top decision-making body of the Chinese legislature voted unanimously to adopt the Hong Kong national security legislation on Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress also adopted a decision to list the law in Annex III to Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, Xinhua reported.—Xinhua
