Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that 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).
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.
The HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China and a local administrative region which enjoys a high degree of autonomy and comes directly under the Central People's Government, Lam pointed out, adding that safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the constitutional duty of the HKSAR and concerns every Hong Kong resident.
In view of the increasingly pronounced national security risks faced by the HKSAR, the enactment of the national security law at the state level is both necessary and urgent in order to plug the loophole in national security in Hong Kong, she said.
She said the HKSAR government would complete the necessary procedure for publication by gazette as soon as possible to enable the implementation of the law in Hong Kong in tandem.
The chief executive reiterated that the national security law seeks to practically and effectively prevent, curb and punish four categories of crimes seriously endangering national security, namely secession, subversion, terrorist activities, and collusion with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security. It only targets an extremely small minority of offenders while the life and property as well as various legitimate basic rights and freedoms enjoyed by the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong residents will be protected.
The HKSAR government will, in accordance with the requirement of the national security law, establish the Committee for Safeguarding National Security to be chaired by the chief executive as soon as possible, Lam said, adding that dedicated units in the Hong Kong Police Force and the Department of Justice will be responsible for implementing the relevant legal provisions in the law.
"I express my heartfelt thanks to the NPC Standing Committee for gauging the views of the HKSAR government and various sectors of the community in Hong Kong as well as taking on board Hong Kong's practical situation during the law drafting process. I am also encouraged by the overwhelming support of the members of the public," she said.
"I am confident that after the implementation of the national security law, the social unrest which has troubled Hong Kong people for nearly a year will be eased and stability will be restored, thereby enabling Hong Kong to start anew, focus on economic development and improve people's livelihood," she added.
