‘Lay down the law’: Basic Law Committee member Rao Geping calls for Hong Kong national security legislation after Mong Kok riot
Leading mainland expert on Hong Kong affairs says unrest was ‘premeditated’ and urges action
A leading mainland expert on Hong Kong affairs yesterday called for shelved national security legislation to be enacted urgently in the wake of last week’s riot in Mong Kok, backing Beijing’s move to label the rioters “separatists” in a similar category as those in Tibet and Xinjiang.
The call from Basic Law Committee member Rao Geping, a law professor at Peking University, came days after Hong Kong security minister Lai Tung-kwok moved to quash concerns that the riot would prompt the government to revive the controversial legislation.
Under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the city must enact its own national security law. But a bill to that effect was shelved in 2003 after a massive public backlash.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with the police last Monday night in the worst violence Hong Kong has seen in decades. About 130 people, including 90 police officers, were injured.
Watch: Police fire warning shots, protesters clash in Mong Kok
A total of 69 people have been arrested so far in connection with the riot. More than half of them have been charged with rioting.
