Former justice secretary backs idea of Beijing security agencies within Hong Kong, saying local police ‘only deal with law and order’

Elsie Leung, who formerly sat on the Basic Law Committee, says local officers ‘don’t have much experience’ handling national security

But former Hong Kong University law dean Johannes Chan says mainland agencies enforcing law in the city would be ‘most devastating’

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President Xi Jinping walks past officials at Friday’s opening session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:00pm, 24 May 2020Updated: 11:17pm, 24 May 2020

A former Hong Kong justice secretary has argued there is nothing unreasonable about Beijing security authorities setting up agencies within the city, as local law enforcement arms “only deal with law and order issues”, though another legal heavyweight has said it would be a “most devastating” move.

Speaking on a Sunday radio programme, Elsie Leung Oi-sie, also a former vice-chairwoman of the Basic Law Committee, argued that while Beijing’s plan to tailor-make a new national security law for Hong Kong had prompted concern, the impact on the city would be much more serious if the central government ignored the threats to national security.

“Warfare or rebellion could happen … So for the sake of our long-term stability, society needs to accept some short-term pain,” Leung said.

Former secretary for justice Elsie Leung said some ‘short-term’ pain was necessary for ‘long-term stability’. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Leung’s remarks came as more than 200 parliamentarians and policymakers from 23 countries earlier on Sunday issued a joint statement condemning Beijing’s move, with former British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind describing it as “the most serious threat to the people of Hong Kong there has been from the Chinese government since 1997”.

Beijing unveiled the resolution at the opening of its annual legislative sessions on Friday to “prevent, frustrate and punish” threats to national security by outlawing acts of secession, subversion, foreign interference and terrorism in Hong Kong.

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