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Hong Kong national security law (NSL)
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The central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong. Photo: Bloomberg

Beijing’s liaison office held ‘unprecedented’ round of meetings with senior Hong Kong officials to boost support for national security law

  • The mainland government arm asked ministers and undersecretaries to support the proposed legislation in a series of discussions over past three weeks, sources say
  • The effort comes ahead of a session of top legislators on mainland China scheduled for next week, which could signal the law’s imminent adoption
Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong privately urged senior local government officials to throw their weight behind the contentious national security law in a series of briefings on an “unprecedented scale”, the South China Morning Post has learned.

The revelation came as the National People’s Congress Standing Committee scheduled a three-day meeting from next Thursday, implying the legislation could be hammered out – or even passed – by the end of next week.

The bill, which would outlaw activities of succession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong, was not on the official agenda, but Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole representative to the apex body of the national legislature, said the item “could be added in the last minute”.

Many of the 36 Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) would like to sit in the meeting, he added.

Luo Huining, director of the liaison office, was not present for most of the meetings, the Post was told. Photo: Bloomberg

Several sources told the Post the liaison office had initiated more than a dozen meetings with local officials in the nearly three weeks since Beijing announced the bill.

“[They] mainly asked us to openly show support for the law in departments’ capacity,” said an official, who attended one of the sessions and wished to remain anonymous. “They also explained Beijing’s rationale behind imposing such laws and clarified some implementation issues.”

The mainland agency’s effort to garner support was on a scale “not seen in other issues in recent years”, according to another veteran government official.

In the past, the office would brief specific bureaus on its concerns, but this time ministers and other senior officials – including undersecretaries, political assistants and permanent secretaries – from different bureaus were briefed, sources said.

It is understood some sessions lasted only 10 minutes, while others ran for more than an hour. The director of the liaison office, Luo Huining, was not present for most of the meetings.

03:18

Hong Kong’s national security law is like ‘anti-virus software’, top Beijing official says

Hong Kong’s national security law is like ‘anti-virus software’, top Beijing official says

Another official who met mainland officials said: “There were interactions. We expressed our concerns and raised potential backlashes that might arise during the implementation.”

At least seven ministers have already publicly backed the law in interviews with local and foreign media, even though their portfolio is not directly related to national security.

Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the law would not harm the city, while environment minister Wong Kam-sing supported the bill on social media.

Although the NPC passed the resolution on the bill with just one vote against last month, details of the law remain unknown, including the scope of the offences and the roles of local and mainland law enforcement.

Security minister John Lee Ka-chiu told the Post earlier local police were setting up a dedicated unit to enforce the law, which would be ready to function “on the very first day”.

Former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, now a lawmaker and an Executive Council member, welcomed the idea, saying Beijing might not need to set up a separate agency in Hong Kong to fulfil the duties if local police could be equipped with enforcement capabilities.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting says local police will not be trained in time to enforce the law on ‘day one’. Photo: Winson Wong

“It would be much better for Hong Kong civil servants to be responsible to train its own personnel to enforce the law … [Beijing] said clearly that a new mainland agency is only required if necessary,” she said on Wednesday.

But Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said he was “shocked” by Lee’s suggestion the dedicated unit would be ready to function on day one, given the absence of information concerning the law.

It would take weeks to train officers on how to enforce the complicated legislation which covered severe offences, Lam said, warning hasty implementation could easily lead to abuses.

Party colleague James To Kun-sun was not convinced only local officers would be involved, given Beijing’s high profile and hardline approach to dealing with new national security plans.

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Meanwhile, two mainland officials, deputy chief of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Song Zhe and vice-chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee Zhang Yong, attended a seminar in Hong Kong, according to the pro-Beijing group Hong Kong Coalition.

Zhang said the standing committee would work very hard to finish drafting the law as soon as possible, and Song reiterated Beijing was determined to finish the process.

“Only when national security is safeguarded, can Hong Kong enjoy a stable society with rule of law and a good business environment,” Song was quoted as saying.

Additional reporting by Sum Lok-kei

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