Advertisement
National security law: Hong Kong leader calls on opposition camp not to demonise legislation
- Carrie Lam says the government will explain the legislation’s details after it is drafted
- She rejects concerns that imposing the law will undermine the local judicial system
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Hong Kong’s leader has called on the opposition camp not to “demonise” the new national security law being tailor-made for the city, promising that the government would explain details of the legislation after it is drafted.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday said stigmatising the law would bring the opposition into conflict with the public, but stopped short of commenting further on the bill, saying she was not involved in its drafting.
Lam’s comments came a day after Deng Zhonghua, deputy director of the cabinet-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said Beijing would exercise jurisdiction over cases “in very special circumstances” when applying the new law, sparking fears that Hongkongers might be extradited to mainland China for trials.
Advertisement
The law Beijing is imposing on Hong Kong aims to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.
This new piece of legislation will not change Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, and will not affect judicial independence, including that of final adjudication
“Without any details about the provisions in the legislation, and how they are going to be applied, it is not possible and appropriate for me to express my opinion on comments made by my mainland counterparts, because I’m not a party to the lawmaking institution,” Lam said ahead of her weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x