No deadline for security laws, Beijing tells lawyers

Hong Kong has a duty to press ahead with moves to bring in new national security laws but there is no deadline for when the process must be completed, senior NPC officials have told a delegation of lawyers visiting Beijing.

The comments are seen as an indication that passage of the controversial laws must not be postponed indefinitely, although Hong Kong can take whatever time is needed to secure public support.

The view was expressed during a debate about the city's obligations under Article 23 of the Basic Law at the Great Hall of the People on Monday.

Andrew Liao Cheung-sing SC, head of the group of visiting lawyers, said: 'The impression I got is that we can't just leave it and not do anything. But the timing and the content are up to the government. It is for the [government] to consider the circumstances and to implement Article 23 according to our legal principles and the integrity of our system.'

Another member of the delegation, Alan Hoo SC, said: 'There should not be indecent haste or obscene delay ... We should let things take their proper and natural course. That's the message we've been given.'

The delegation of 46 lawyers met Sheng Huaren, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress, and Qiao Xiaoyang, head of the legislative affairs commission of the NPC, and other senior officials.