National security law: Chinese version to prevail over English one, despite Hong Kong being officially bilingual
- The government confirms the policy, which contravenes law granting equal status to the two languages
- There are differences in the two versions, for example ‘universities’ is found in one but not the other
But the move was sharply criticised by one lawyer, who noted discrepancies between the two versions, adding he had never seen such a poorly drafted piece of legislation. A retired judge admitted he was having difficulty understanding the English version.
The government gazetted the law in Chinese at 11pm on Tuesday after it was passed by China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
Hours later, Xinhua state news agency released a translation, but one it described only as “a reference” and it does not have official status in the city. The official English version was published on the government’s website only on Friday, three days after the law came into effect.
The law aims to stop and punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with offenders facing up to life imprisonment.
According to the Official Languages Ordinance, Chinese and English possess equal status and enjoy equality of use for communicating between the government and the public.
In a reply to the Post’s enquiries on Sunday, the Department of Justice confirmed Chinese was the official language of the new law because it was a national law enacted by the standing committee. “During the enforcement of the law by various government bureaus and departments, if necessary, they could seek legal advice from the Department of Justice,” a spokesman said.
