Beijing says new law is domestic affair, like birthday gift to HK

Supporters displaying a Chinese flag to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule and the new national security law yesterday.
Supporters displaying a Chinese flag to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule and the new national security law yesterday. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

Top Chinese officials yesterday said suspects detained under the new national security law in Hong Kong can be put on trial in the mainland, confirming the fears of many of those in the territory opposed to the legislation.

Critics praise Hong Kong's legal system for being open and impartial, but dismiss the one in China as a far more opaque system with its nearly 99 per cent conviction rate.

An official from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office also confirmed that the city will still have to pass its own national security law.

There will be a division of labour between the National Security Unit of the Hong Kong Police Force, and that of the newly set up National Security Agency, which reports to Beijing, said Mr Shen Chunyao, vice-chairman of the Constitution and Law Committee in China's Parliament, and a key architect of the new legislation.

"The National Security Law clearly stipulates that the procuratorate designated by the Supreme People's Procuratorate is responsible for prosecution, and the court designated by the Supreme People's Court becomes responsible for trial," he told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday.

"The reason why the National Security Law stipulates this is that Hong Kong's legal system is different from the mainland."

Under the legislation, cases deemed complex can be tried in Chinese courts, and those involving state secrets can be heard behind closed doors.

In some of the most wide-ranging comments since the law was first proposed over a month ago, Chinese officials at the briefing also took the opportunity to hit back at the United States, which has led a global outcry against the sweeping law that bypassed the city's legislature before it was passed.

"Some countries are threatening us with sanctions. I would say this is the logic of bandits," said Mr Zhang Xiaoming, executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet.

He emphasised that the security law was China's domestic affair.

"Hong Kongers have phrases: 'Is there anything wrong?' and 'None of your business!'," Mr Zhang said in Cantonese.

  • At a glance

    • The law punishes vaguely worded crimes related to secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign countries, with penalties ranging from three years' jail to life imprisonment.

    • Suspects arrested can be moved to China for trials.

    • The police's new national security division will have powers to search premises and devices without a warrant, intercept communications and conduct covert surveillance of suspects, and freeze or confiscate assets and property.

    • A new national security agency set up in Hong Kong will not be subject to local jurisdiction.

    • The law applies to foreigners who are resident outside the city.

    • The new security agency will be responsible for keeping in check foreign bodies, including non-governmental organisations.

    • No one convicted under the law will be allowed to stand for any election in Hong Kong.

    • Hong Kong's Chief Executive is required to submit reports and be accountable to Beijing for national security matters. The Chief Executive will designate a group of judges to handle such cases.

"Of course, we are not intimidated."

Asked about the prospect of the city's status as a financial hub being threatened by US-China rivalry, Mr Zhang said Hong Kong's prosperity was dependent on the territory's stability and support from the central government.

The new law was like a birthday present, Mr Zhang said, noting that yesterday was the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.

"If we compare it to a birthday gift, it will certainly continue to show its precious value in the future," he said, repeatedly stressing that the law was passed to protect the "one country, two systems" principle by which Hong Kong is governed.

But critics say otherwise.

"(The law) is a big encroachment on the 'one country, two systems' formula," said political science professor Jean-Pierre Cabestan of Hong Kong Baptist University.

"It's the end of Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy."

But Prof Cabestan also felt that the fears of many Hong Kongers that the law will allow for extradition to the mainland may be overblown.

"Not everyone can be extradited (to the mainland), but we'll have (more) mainland Chinese officials in Hong Kong, and they are not accountable to anyone," he said.

Another Chinese law specialist, Mr Donald Clarke, said it appeared that officers can act with impunity following the setting up of the special national security agency in Hong Kong.

"If mainland practice to date is any guide - and it is - then the definitions don't matter that much," he wrote in a blog post.

"Anything can be stretched as necessary to cover something done by the person being targeted."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 02, 2020, with the headline Beijing says new law is domestic affair, like birthday gift to HK. Subscribe