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Hong KongPolitics

‘Large-scale’ breach of new anthem rules could see law applied retroactively, top Beijing adviser Elsie Leung says

Warning follows Hong Kong soccer fans’ booing of national anthem at friendly match against Bahrain on Thursday

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Elsie Leung Oi-sie, deputy Director df the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Shirley Zhao

Hong Kong’s looming national anthem law may not be retroactive, but the city’s legislature has the power to make it so if there is any “large-scale” breach of the rules after the government submits a draft bill, a top Beijing adviser has said.

The remarks by Elsie Leung Oi-sie, vice-chairwoman of the Basic Law Committee, which advises Chinese state leaders on the implementation of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, came after hardcore city soccer fans again booed the national anthem on Thursday at the start of a friendly against Bahrain, despite a heavy police presence.

“The criminal law normally is not retroactive,” Leung said on Sunday after a public event. “I also think [the anthem law] should not be retroactive.

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“[But] if there is large-scale breach before legislation, I believe the Legislative Council has the right to make it retroactive after [the government] submits a draft bill if necessary.”

Leung said Legco, when examining the draft bill, could add a stipulation that the law would be effective from a specific time to make it retroactive, if there was a serious breach that caused “great impact on society”.

China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, decided to incorporate the mainland’s national anthem law into Hong Kong’s Basic Law on November 4. That means the city government now has to pass a local law to the same effect.
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