Article 23 legislation not top priority, Lai Tung-kwok says

The city's security chief has given Hongkongers an assurance that a controversial national security law - back in the spotlight after a top mainland official said "necessary measures" were needed to stop foreign interference - was not a top priority for Hong Kong's government.

Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok made his remarks yesterday on the last day of his five-day visit to Beijing, after meeting Zhang Xiaoming , a deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Wednesday.

"It's the special administrative region's constitutional responsibility to set up laws to protect national security in Hong Kong, and the public should bear this responsibility together" said Lai. "But as the government has said in various occasions, its major task now is to tackle issues that the public are concerned about, including housing, poverty and environment."

Lai said his meeting with Zhang had been a courtesy call and they did not talk about the legislation. They mainly discussed the country's future development as stated in the report of the 18th party congress.

In an article in pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po last week Zhang, called for enactment of the law, required by Article 23 of the Basic Law. In the 6,000-word article, "Enrich the implementation of one country, two systems", Zhang wrote that unnamed "external powers" had gotten deeply involved in Hong Kong elections and had helped to co-ordinate campaigns for opposition parties. He said Hong Kong should complete the Article 23 legislation "in due course".

Zhang said that the Hong Kong City-State Autonomy Movement and any referendum campaigns were in breach of the "one country" part of "one country, two systems". The article was a chapter in a study guide to the report of the party congress.