Exclusive | Hong Kong’s justice department will make all decisions to prosecute suspects under new national security law: minister
- Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah says such calls to be made by her department, not its mainland Chinese counterpart
- She pledges the city’s government will raise concerns with the NPC Standing Committee if common law principles, human rights safeguards are not observed
Any decision to prosecute suspects under the new national security law that Beijing is tailor-making for Hong Kong will rest with the city’s Department of Justice, instead of its mainland Chinese counterpart, Hong Kong’s justice minister has promised.
Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah pledged on Monday that the Hong Kong government would raise its concerns with China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, if common law principles and human rights safeguards were not observed in the legislation before its implementation in the city.
In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, she also said the new law would not be retrospective in principle, and open trials would be conducted “in general”, although exceptions could be allowed under international and common law practice.
Cheng sought to allay fears that mainland prosecutors might lay charges against suspects after the national security law was passed, saying “the best answer is Article 63 of the Basic Law, which states that the Department of Justice shall control criminal prosecutions”.
“When we control the criminal prosecutions here in Hong Kong, it is to be free from any interference,” she said, referring to the provision in the city’s mini-constitution.
Asked if there would be exceptions for politically sensitive cases, the justice secretary said: “I don’t see it in Article 63, do I?”
She added that there was no mention in the resolution endorsed by the NPC last Thursday that the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China was going to set up a body in Hong Kong which would take over prosecutorial decisions.