Hong Kong government should take two years before starting controversial national security legislation, says former minister
Raymond Tam said the whole process could take three to four years
The former minister in charge of mainland affairs in Hong Kong has said the city’s government should kick start the process of national security legislation by July 2019, at the earliest.
Raymond Tam Chi-yuen formally joined the race for one of 36 local deputy seats in China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, on Thursday.
Tam added to the calls by incumbent deputies, including Cheng Yiu-tong and Stanley Ng Chau-pei, that the government should push to enact Article 23 legislation within the next five years.
Tam said the whole process – from consultation to voting in Legco – could last three to four years and he didn’t anticipate Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to complete the work within her five-year term.
‘Pass national security law and Beijing will be more confident granting Hong Kong democracy’
“The government wants to get a lot done,” he said, adding the government could spend its first two years focusing on livelihood and economic issues.
A move to pass national security legislation was shelved in 2003 after half a million people protested, fearing for their liberties. The debate was reignited by Li Fei, a senior Beijing official who specialises in Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, a few weeks earlier. Li said Hong Kong was paying the price for the delay, with independence advocates exploiting the lack of a national security law.
Lam has not committed to a legislation time frame, but said she will create favourable social conditions for it.
Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of the Executive Council which advises Lam on policy, has proposed a so-called “incremental enactment” under which offences concerning treason, secession, sedition and subversion would be dealt with first.
Those could be followed by offences concerning state secrets, and lastly matters involving dealing with foreign political organisations.
Yet, Tam believed enacting the legislation in one go would be better to avoid suspicion from the public that the government is hiding something for the future.
Enact national security laws step-by-step, says former Hong Kong justice secretary
“It has to be done with very high transparency and sufficient discussion in the society,” Tam said.
Tam had submitted 386 nominations for his bid to join the NPC, with four coming from the pro-democracy voters in high education sector. Other nominators included former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, former financial secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen and former ministers Dr Ko Wing-man and Anthony Cheung Bing-leung.
A panel of 1,989 Hong Kong electors, including about 300 pan-democrats, are to choose the 36 deputies by block vote on December 19. Nominations close on December 4.
Apart from Tam, Nick Chan Hiu-fung, a council member of The Law Society, and Brave Chan Yung, vice-chairman of Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, also joined the race on Thursday.
