Hong Kong gov’t amends national security law, allowing suspects’ assets to be frozen until legal proceedings end
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has amended the Beijing-imposed national security law to allow authorities to freeze assets of suspects and defendants until all legal proceedings against them have concluded.
The national security law, which was established on June 30, 2020, gave national security police the power to issue to freeze any property “used to or intended to be used for the commission of the offence.”
However, that notice must not exceed two years, according to the implementation rules for Article 43 of the security law.
On Friday, Hong Kong’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security and the Chief Executive John Lee announced they had amended the law to allow assets to be frozen “until the conclusion of the proceedings,” with immediate effect.
“The amendments are technical in nature and the scope of the proposed amendments is extremely narrow,” a government spokesman said in a statement about the amendment. “After the amendment, the property right of the suspects and defendants of cases concerning offences endangering national security remains protected in accordance with the law.”
Beijing imposed national security legislation in Hong Kong in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure.
The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, whilst dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from Western countries, the UN and NGOs.
Three days following enactment of the law, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong was established. It is chaired by the chief executive and reports to Beijing, and any decision by the committee is not amenable to judicial review.
Judicial reviews are considered by the Court of First Instance and examine the decision-making processes of administrative bodies. Issues under review must be shown to affect the wider public interest.
According to the law, the chief executive, in conjunction with the committee, has the power to make implementation rules for Article 43, which relates to the power of national security police, such as ordering people to surrender travel documents, searching premises and digital devices, and requiring suspects to provide information.
Assets frozen
Hong Kong’s national security police have frozen the assets of suspects in some landmark cases, including those of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who has been detained for over 1,000 days.
In May 2021, John Lee – then the city’s security chief – announced that Lai’s assets would be frozen, including his shares in Next Digital Limited with an estimated value of approximately HK$349 million.
National security police mobilised 500 officers to search the headquarters of Next Digital Limited and the Apple Daily newspaper. Lee also announced that assets belonging to three subsidiaries of Next Digital worth HK$ 18 million would be frozen .
The trial against Lai will start on Monday.
Authorities also froze the assets of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the group that used to organise the city’s annual vigils for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
In early September 2021, authorities froze HK$2.2 million in the Alliance’s bank accounts. In late September that year, the alliance’s property in Mong Kok, worth approximately HK$8 million, was frozen.
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