Hong Kong earmarks additional HK$5 billion for national security

Hong Kong authorities have allocated HK$5 billion (US$638 million) in funding for efforts to safeguard national security, bringing the total amount earmarked for this purpose to HK$18 billion over the past five years, an official document has revealed.

The South China Morning Post’s check on the government’s general revenue expenditure accounts for the financial year ending in March 2026 showed a non-recurrent expenditure of HK$5 billion set aside for a “special fund to meet the expenditure for safeguarding national security”.

This funding marks the third non-recurrent expenditure from the government for national security spending. The government previously allocated HK$8 billion in the 2021-22 budget and another HK$5 billion in the 2023-24 financial year, bringing accumulated funding to HK$18 billion.

National security budgets and staffing were approved by the chief executive and were not subject to any restrictions within the city’s laws, the Treasury said in the document that was published in the government gazette. This expenditure was not included in the government’s budget document and estimates in the 2025-26 budget.

Only the first appropriation of HK$8 billion was included in the estimated revenue and expenditure of several government accounts in the 2021-22 budget.