China Ministry of Public Security backs Hong Kong police in rolling out national security law

Name: Hong Kong needs Beijing approval to handle national security law cases in three situations
Uploaded: 2020-07-05T13:00:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 9 s
Description: Hong Kong needs Beijing approval to handle national security law cases in three situations

In its first comments since the law came into effect, ministry urges Hong Kong police to end violence and disorder in the city but offers few clues on implementation

Ministry of State Security also vows to work with Hong Kong police to enforce the law

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The Ministry of Public Security has pledged to “direct and support” the Hong Kong police in implementation of the national security law. Photo: Xinhua

Jun Mai

Published: 9:00pm, 5 Jul 2020Updated: 11:22am, 6 Jul 2020

China’s Ministry of Public Security has pledged to “direct and support” the Hong Kong police to punish crimes against national security, in its first comments on the city’s new national security law since it came into effect.

“[We] must direct Hong Kong’s police to stop the violence and curb disorder … to prevent, stop and punish the crimes and behaviours by an extremely small group of people who endanger national security,” the ministry’s leadership was quoted as saying in a post on the organisation’s website on Sunday.

The remarks were made during a Saturday meeting by the ministry’s Communist Party committee, which was convened to deliver President Xi Jinping instructions from a Politburo session on June 29, according to the ministry. Official reports on the Politburo session gave no details about the instructions on Hong Kong.

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Hong Kong needs Beijing approval to handle national security law cases in three situations

The leadership of the secretive Ministry of State Security, China’s top intelligence agency, also vowed to “resolutely implement and enforce” the new national security law, state media reported on Sunday.

The ministry made the commitment during a “recent” meeting to study the party’s “deployment” on the national security law and its enforcement.

“[We] must punish according to the law crimes like separatism, subversion, organisation of terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security,” state-run Legal Daily reported the ministry as saying.

The report said the ministry would “resolutely coordinate” with the central government’s new Office for Safeguarding National Security and Hong Kong police to safeguard national security in the city.