Beijing is not insisting Carrie Lam pass a national security law right now, senior adviser claims

Professor Lau Siu-kai, vice-chairman of the Chinese Association on Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think tank, said Beijing would prefer that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor strengthen the authority of her administration over the next few years with policy achievements and ideally amid a moderate political atmosphere in the city.

Under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the city must pass national security legislation. But an effort to push through a bill in 2003 prompted half a million people to take to the streets in opposition, and the bill was shelved.

At the new administration’s inauguration last Saturday, President Xi Jinping said any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty or challenge the central government’s power would cross a “red line”. Xi added that while Hong Kong needed to “improve its systems to uphold national sovereignty”, it must also focus energy on development.