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Beijing has drafted a national security law for Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

National security law: those convicted could face life imprisonment as Beijing holds meeting to finalise bill set to be passed imminently

  • Two sources say law will carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, contrary to earlier indications of a 10-year limit on jail terms
  • Explanations are given on choice of words that are not identical with Hong Kong’s common law system, one source says

Individuals convicted of national security crimes under the new law Beijing is imposing on Hong Kong could face life imprisonment, sources told the Post as China’s top legislative body kicked off a special three-day meeting fast-tracking the bill on Sunday.

The proposed law was a top priority at the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) session on Sunday and was expected to be passed imminently.
Two sources told the Post the contentious legislation being tailor-made for Hong Kong to prevent, stop and punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security would carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, contrary to earlier indications of a 10-year limit on jail terms.
The national security law for Hong Kong is expected to come into force as soon as it is gazetted locally. Photo: EPA

On whether the life sentence would apply to all four crimes or be very targeted, a source who was at Sunday’s meeting said: “It will definitely cover more than just secession and subversion. The law is not going to be merely a ‘toothless tiger’.”

The source was one of a handful of delegates from Hong Kong who had sight of the draft of the law, a major point of contention with many in the city decrying the lack of transparency on a piece of legislation with far-reaching consequences.

He said explanations were given on the choice of words that were not identical with Hong Kong’s common law system.

“For example, the wording used to describe life imprisonment in Hong Kong’s law is different from mainland law, thus there will be explanations on that,” he said.

Push for backdated Hong Kong security law with stiffer penalties

The sentencing regime contradicted earlier remarks by Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole delegate to the standing committee, who first said a week ago the penalty was set at three to 10 years’ imprisonment but subsequently clarified that it was five to 10 years.

On the eve of Sunday’s meeting, Tam said he would inform fellow lawmakers in Beijing of calls to make the bill retroactive and that higher penalties ought to be imposed to enhance its deterrent effect.

Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission under the standing committee, presented a review of the bill, state news agency Xinhua reported of the meeting, which was chaired by Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPCSC.

03:03

Activist Joshua Wong expects to be ‘prime target’ of national security law in Hong Kong

Activist Joshua Wong expects to be ‘prime target’ of national security law in Hong Kong

Refusing to disclose the details of the amendments, Stanley Ng Chau-pei said he and other NPC deputies had conveyed the calls they had received in Hong Kong of the need to make the bill retroactive with stiffer penalties.

“The report presented by Shen this morning had taken into account the views we conveyed,” Ng said.

Ip Kwok-him, another local NPC delegate, added that national security laws in other countries, including the United States, also carried life sentences.

“I can’t see why such a serious offence [in Hong Kong] would not be the same,” he said, adding that details were unlikely to be disclosed before passage of the law.

Ip also revealed the bill stipulated three scenarios under which Beijing could assert jurisdiction over national security cases in Hong Kong, but declined to give details.

Hong Kong media bosses ask Beijing to make security law public

He expected the bill to be passed on Tuesday morning and that it would be enforced in Hong Kong immediately after being gazetted by the local administration.

Professor Wong Yuk-shan, one of the five Basic Law Committee members who was in Beijing, said the standing committee would consult them after passage of the bill and before adding the legislation to Annex 3 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, to apply it to the city.

He expected the meeting would be held on the same day the law was passed.

Apart from the US, which threatened several actions if the law was passed, Japanese broadsheet Yomiuri Shimbun on Sunday reported that Tokyo was also planning to express “regret” towards Beijing – the government’s second harshest term after “condemn” – if it happened.
Ip Kwok-him says national security laws in other countries, including the United States, also carry life sentences. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Last week, Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong conducted a two-day consultative session to meet 120 representatives whom it said had given “honest views” and “unanimously expressed support” for the legislation as well as its speedy implementation.

Opposition politicians and leading lawyers who were not present slammed Beijing for keeping the drafting process under wraps.

Civic Party chairman and former Bar Association chief Alan Leong Kah-kit dismissed the legislative process as “totally unacceptable” given that it was shrouded in secrecy.

“We have less than two days before the passage of the law, but neither our chief executive nor our secretary for justice has seen it – how can that be right? It’s about imposing life imprisonment, taking the freedom and liberty of a Hongkonger for life,” he said. “I am quite astonished.”

The local government spent 18 months answering questions from legislators when it tried to enact the national security law based on Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2003, Leong recalled. The 2003 bill was eventually shelved after half a million people took to the streets against it.

We have less than two days before the passage of the law, but neither our chief executive nor our secretary for justice has seen it – how can that be right?
Alan Leong, Civic Party chairman

“Now the central government has the ultimate say on how to interpret the law. It’s not something our spirit of the rule of law will be able to follow,” he added.

On Sunday, dozens of Hongkongers took to the streets in Kowloon to protest against the bill, while another march in Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island fizzled out with protesters failing to show up.

Wayne Chan Ka-kui, a 29-year-old activist of the Hong Kong Independence Union, also confirmed on social media on Sunday that he had fled the city as he called on his peers not to give up their dreams to break away from China.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung and Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po continued to drum up support for the bill on their weekly blogs.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says the city has contingency plans in the event of US sanctions. Photo: Nora Tam

Cheung said the new law would help ensure the city’s long-term prosperity while Chan took aim at the US, which had earlier vowed to strip Hong Kong of its preferential trade status, and had enacted visa restrictions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for undermining local autonomy and freedoms.

The finance chief said the administration had drawn up contingency plans against the US threat of sanctions.

“The US took advantage of the national security law and stirred up so-called sanctions, which drew the market’s attention on what effects this might lead to,” Chan wrote, but he added the local government was well-prepared.

US Senate passes bill that could punish China for Hong Kong security law

He did not elaborate on the plans but said his team had contacted the financial sector, and many agreed the legislation could restore order. There were also no signs of any significant capital outflow recently, he added.

Meanwhile, pro-establishment lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding hit out at the Bar Association, which had repeatedly voiced concerns over the national security law.

“Perhaps the Bar Association ought to keep a lid on its own political motives, and mind their own business as a true professional body reflecting professional opinion, as opposed to biased political opinion,” said Chow, a solicitor.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: offenders ‘could be handed life terms, not just 10 years’
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