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Hong Kong national security law (NSL)
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The Legislative Council election will be held in September. Photo: Felix Wong

National security law: Hong Kong official drops hints that election candidates could be barred for opposing new legislation

  • Constitutional affairs chief Erick Tsang questions whether those who are against the law are fit to run for office
  • Tsang also says it is up to returning officers to decide whether applicants are valid candidates
The Hong Kong minister overseeing elections has dropped the biggest hint yet that candidates who oppose the national security law Beijing is crafting for the city could be barred from running in upcoming polls for the legislature.
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said on Wednesday that he had doubts as to whether those who were against the law being drafted by China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, were fit to run for office.

“I don’t think anyone would question whether Hong Kong has a constitutional responsibility to protect national security,” he said.

“If one were to be against [the new law] in principle … does that fit the requirements for candidates to bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [SAR] of the People’s Republic of China?”

Erick Tsang is the constitutional and mainland affairs chief. Photo: Dickson Lee
As part of their oath of office, lawmakers must swear allegiance to the SAR and declare a willingness to uphold the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

The new law’s stated intent is to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong, though opposition politicians and legal scholars warn it could be used to suppress dissent and erode freedoms.

Tsang, speaking outside a Legislative Council meeting, also said it was up to returning officers – civil servants drafted in from the Home Affairs Bureau – to decide whether applicants were valid.

“I’m only saying this raises suspicions,” he said.

Extradition may be possible under Hong Kong national law, NPCSC delegate says

The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau sits above the Registration and Electoral Office (REO), which is responsible for executing electoral arrangements decided by the Electoral Affairs Commission, an independent statutory body. The Legco election is in September.

Similar comments were made by pro-Beijing heavyweight Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole member of the standing committee, who alleged that those opposed to the new law were violating the Basic Law and should not be able to run.

“Those who want to be part of Hong Kong’s establishment, be it lawmakers or candidates, should not be against legislating on national security,” Tam wrote in an opinion piece published earlier this month.

In a reply to the Post’s inquiries, the REO did not make clear whether candidates’ views on the national security law would be taken into account when judging the validity of their applications.

Candidates for Legco were banned from running in a previous by-election. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Lawmaker Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, leader of the Civic Party, accused Tsang of intimidating him and his allies in the opposition camp.

“It is totally irresponsible for officials to accuse anyone of raising suspicion, when they cannot provide any details of the national security law,” Yeung said.

“It is our duty as legislators to do our job and challenge any outstanding issues from the law.”

Beijing reserves right to handle ‘rare’ Hong Kong national security law cases

Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said Tsang’s comments were a “threat” to the opposition, but questioned whether the government had a legal basis for barring candidates for that particular reason.

“Some people who ran in past elections were also against making laws under Article 23 [of the Basic Law], and they were not disqualified,” Choy said.

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

Under Article 23, the government has a responsibility to enact legislation against seven acts, including treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the central government.

An attempt to pass the law in 2003 failed after half a million residents took to the streets in protest against it. The pro-democracy camp and pro-government lawmakers from the business sector also opposed it.

The court disqualified six lawmakers elected in 2016 over improper oath-taking during their swearing-in ceremony, which later triggered an interpretation by Beijing of the Basic Law’s Article 104 on oaths.

Candidates were barred from a by-election in 2018 as the returning officer said they had not genuinely changed their previous position of advocating self-determination for Hong Kong.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Opponents of new law ‘could be barred from election’
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