Amending other laws could pave the way for Hong Kong national security legislation
Lawmakers encouraged to present ideas to enact the controversial Article 23 to avoid repeat of 2003 uproar
Amendments could gradually be made to existing laws to enact Article 23 of the Basic Law on national security legislation, Hong Kong’s former justice minister Elsie Leung Oi-sie said.
Leung, also vice-chairwoman of the Basic Law Committee under the National People’s Congress, yesterday suggested lawmakers float their own ideas on how to enact Article 23.
Leung said it could minimise conflict in the legislature because it would not be the government presenting a proposal for discussion. She cited the events of 2003 when half a million people took to the streets to oppose the legislation, forcing it to be scrapped.
“The government may have been too rushed to present so many complex laws for public discussion in 2003. The public was not able to understand them.”
Leung said amendments could be made to the Crimes Ordinance, Public Order Ordinance, Societies Ordinance and other laws to achieve the purpose of prohibiting any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion and theft of state secrets as required under Article 23.
