Hong Kong freedoms at risk if ban on pro-independence party proceeds, former lawmaker Margaret Ng warns
Actions by Hong Kong National Party – talking, giving interviews, handing out leaflets – clearly not an ‘imminent threat’ to national security, barrister says
Prominent former lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee has warned that Hongkongers’ cherished freedoms will suffer “a clear setback” if authorities proceed with the police’s proposed ban on the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party (HKNP).
The vocal barrister and democracy campaigner questioned how hosting street booths and conducting media interviews – as the party and its founder Andy Chan Ho-tin had done – amounted to an “imminent threat” to national security as police had suggested last month.
Ng’s warning came as the HKNP demanded written confirmation from the Security Bureau by Monday that there had been no communication between the bureau and police before the latter recommended the ban. The party took that step to find out whether the government had originally ordered the force to study the option of a ban.
A bureau spokesman on Sunday said it was taking legal advice on the request.
The party also asked police to provide all records of surveillance against Chan, audio recordings and video footage compiled before and during the preparation of the recommendation and all materials which authorities had considered for the case. Police said they were following up on that.
