‘Collusion’ question: could new security law language make it illegal for Hongkongers to lobby for sanctions on China or accept money from foreign groups?
- The implications of adding ‘colluding with foreign and external forces’ to impending legislation have raised considerable concern in some quarters
- Tailor-made law for city unlikely to be passed at Standing Committee meeting on Saturday, multiple sources have told the Post
The addition of “collusion” with foreign forces as an offence under the national security law Beijing is drafting for Hong Kong has left many questions unanswered, with experts suggesting that lobbying foreign governments to impose sanctions on China and receiving money from sensitive external groups could be punishable.
The term “collusion” in the draft legislation is a new concept for Hongkongers, and its implications are causing considerable concern.
It remains unclear what acts would constitute offences of “colluding with foreign and external forces to endanger national security”, as stipulated in the draft law tabled to China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Standing Committee.
The three-day session of the Standing Committee is scheduled to end on Saturday morning. But multiple sources told the South China Morning Post that the legislation, which has yet to be unveiled, was unlikely to be passed during this meeting or come into effect on Saturday even if it was endorsed on the same day.
A member of the Basic Law Committee, which advises the Standing Committee on matters concerning Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, said the group had yet to be asked to join any meeting to discuss the addition of the national security law to the Basic Law, a prerequisite for the legislation to come into effect in the city.
The Basic Law states that the Standing Committee may add to or delete from the list of laws in Annex III after consulting the Basic Law Committee and the city’s government.