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Opinion | How Hong Kong can create the right conditions for Article 23 national security legislation in 2019
- Eugene Kin-keung Chan says the Hong Kong government should set up an influential and broad-based committee, including young people, to listen to the public and explain why a national security law is needed
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No sooner had Hong Kong said goodbye to 2018 than politically sensitive issues, including the national anthem bill, were put on the agenda for this year. However, although the bill has been described as a potential political flashpoint, it is less controversial and urgent than national security laws, as stipulated in the Basic Law.
Hong Kong has an constitutional obligation to enact national security legislation, regardless of the controversy and political sensitivity associated with Article 23 of the Basic Law. This is a key point that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has repeatedly emphasised.
Upholding the Chinese constitution and the Basic Law is fundamental to being a Chinese national. As Chinese nationals, we in Hong Kong have an obligation to safeguard national security and sovereignty. Few countries in the world are without laws and systems to protect national security against espionage, covert sabotage, sedition, terrorism and so forth.
The disqualification of Eddie Chu Hoi-dick from a rural representative election should remind us that there are some who deploy rhetoric to disguise their pro-independence stance. They refuse to oppose self-determination, a concept that does not exclude independence; they argue that they do not embrace independence for Hong Kong, but do not mind or even support others' pro-independence stance.
Although the government has not set a firm timetable, Lam has stressed there must be an appropriate atmosphere before officials consider tabling a national security bill under Article 23. Lam is right to draw our attention to the challenge of finding “the right time” and a “good atmosphere”.
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