Public supports prompt implementation of Hong Kong’s Article 23 national security law, John Lee says
- Chief Executive John Lee says Security Bureau is ‘making every effort’ to analyse public submissions as 30-day consultation window on Article 23 legislation closes
- ‘The vast majority of submissions we receive are in support of the timely legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law,’ Lee says
Most public proposals submitted during a consultation for Hong Kong’s domestic national security law have supported the prompt implementation of the legislation, the city leader has said, although one leading European business association remained concerned about its “vaguely defined concepts”.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Wednesday, the last day of the 30-day consultation window, that the Security Bureau was “making every effort” to analyse public submissions on the Article 23 legislation.
“The vast majority of submissions we receive are in support of the timely legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law,” he told the press after bidding farewell to Xia Baolong, the head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, who finished a week-long trip to the city.
“The Security Bureau will do its best to complete all analyses and summaries, and will report to the Legislative Council, with the goal to complete the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law as soon as possible,” Lee said.
Under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, the Hong Kong government is required to enact national security laws “on its own”.
The proposed legislation, which will sit alongside the national security law that Beijing imposed in 2020, targets five new types of offences: treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage endangering national security, and external interference.
