National security law: a new commission would allow Hong Kong leader to remain informed of developments, minister says

Secretary for Security John Lee also seeks to allay the public’s worries about Beijing’s plan to impose a national security law on Hong Kong

Justice chief Teresa Cheng says it is ‘unreasonable’ to expect that everything in new law will be exactly as what a Hong Kong statute would be like

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Mainland agencies will be set up in Hong Kong to protect national security when needed. Photo: EPA

Published: 4:49pm, 14 Jun 2020Updated: 11:52pm, 14 Jun 2020

Setting up a national security commission would allow Hong Kong’s leader to remain informed about new developments, fulfilling his or her responsibility to safeguard China’s sovereignty in the city, a senior minister said on Sunday.

Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu also sought to allay the public’s worries about Beijing’s plan to impose a national security law on Hong Kong, saying common law principles, such the presumption of innocence, would still be practised under the new legislation.

But writing on her official blog on Sunday, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said it would be “impracticable and unreasonable to expect that everything” in the national security law would be exactly as what a statute in Hong Kong, a common law jurisdiction, would be like.

Security chief John Lee also sought to allay public worries about the new law. Photo: Felix Wong

“Yet, of course, the legislation should be clear and understood in [Hong Kong],” she wrote.

Critics had suggested inserting a sunset clause so the impending legislation would be abolished once Hong Kong enacted its own national security law as required under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.