Passage of domestic security law a ‘glorious achievement,’ Hong Kong leader John Lee tells Beijing official

Hong Kong Free Press

The enactment of Hong Kong’s new domestic security law was a “glorious achievement,” Chief Executive John Lee has said in a meeting with Beijing’s top official on the city’s affairs.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (left) meets with Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Xia Baolong in Shenzhen on March 21, 2024. Photo: GovHK.

Hong Kong leader Lee and other government officials met the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Xia Baolong in Shenzhen on Thursday, two days after the city’s “patriotic” lawmakers approved the Safeguarding National Security Bill required under Article 23 of the Basic Law.

New law

Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of to up to 16 days, and suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature.

The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.

The Article 23 legislation had “strong popular support” and its early completion was a “consensus” of the Hong Kong community, the chief executive told Xia as he reported on the city’s recent work developments. The government earlier said that close to 100 per cent of the submissions it received during a public consultation period for the legislation expressed support for it.

The new law allowed Hong Kong to establish “solid fortifications” and consolidated its “defence wall” as the city transitioned from chaos to order, Lee said. The city could now “stride forward confidently” on the path to prosperity and concentrate on the development of a vibrant economy and a caring community, he added.

“It was a glorious achievement of the implementation of the principle of ‘patriots administering Hong Kong’,” Lee said in an English statement released on Thursday night.

Justice minister Paul Lam, security chief Chris Tang and the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip also attended the meeting.