Hong Kong’s Article 23 law: auditors call for clarity amid fears over handling confidential information linked to possible state secrets

Accountancy sector lawmaker and former colleague urge ‘legal reassurances’ in Article 23 bill to avoid legal liabilities for professionals carrying out their work

They worry confidential corporate information could potentially be linked to state secrets, placing auditors in difficult situations

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Government officials and lawmakers discussed the Article 23 bill. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 8:00pm, 17 Mar 2024Updated: 12:05pm, 21 Mar 2024

Auditors in Hong Kong need more legal assurances that a domestic national security bill will not place an onerous burden on them as they handle confidential corporate information that could potentially be linked to state secrets, a current accountancy sector lawmaker and a former colleague have said.

The two industry representatives, along with 11 other unnamed accountants, told the Post that as auditors and accountants they could be handling sensitive information and feared being caught in the difficult situation of deciding to keep client confidentiality and having to inform the authorities.

“We need the government to clarify this matter and tell us how we can allay the industry’s concerns,” said lawmaker Edmund Wong Chun-sek of the accountancy functional constituency.

Lawmaker Edmund Wong at Tamar. He worries accountants will “run into a Catch-22” over reporting national security breaches and maintaining the profession’s code of conduct about client confidentiality. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

The proposed law targets five types of offences – treason; insurrection; theft of state secrets and espionage; sabotage endangering national security; and external interference.

Hong Kong is required to pass the legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

The bill now before the Legislative Council defines seven types of “state secrets”, the disclosure of which could endanger national security, including secrets related to major policy decisions, national defence, armed forces and the economic, social, technological and scientific development of mainland China and Hong Kong.

The highest penalty for illegal disclosure of state secrets is a 10-year prison term.