Safeguarding national security should become Hong Kong's ‘culture,' leader John Lee says
In an interview with the Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po, published on Friday, Lee said the government's effort to safeguard national security was still at its 'starting stage.'
His remarks come almost five years after Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in the summer of 2020, following large-scale pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019.
The city enacted a homegrown security law, known locally as Article 23, in March 2024.
Last month, subsidiary legislation for Article 23 was enacted. Six new offences were created to facilitate the work of China's Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) in the city, and six sites occupied by the office were declared 'prohibited places,' with hefty penalties for intruders or spies.
Lee said in his interview that Hong Kong was still 'setting up the institution' of safeguarding national security.
'We have to strengthen our information network to become more aware of the acts that endanger national security, as well as the opponents' financial capability, other resources, and manpower,' he said in Cantonese.
He also said that authorities should step up the training of national security agents against state-level threats, such as spies.
Spies 'could be highly discreet. Things that appear normal on the surface may involve a large conspiracy and a grand scheme behind,' he said. 'Ultimately, their motives and goals are to endanger our national security.'
The city's government has been in 'good communication' with mainland Chinese authorities in training agents, he added.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong will continue to promote national security education, Lee said, in a bid to make residents capable of recognising national security threats instantly.
'I hope they become more identified [with national security] and more proactive, so that safeguarding national security can become a culture,' he said.
Over 300 people have been arrested for 'acts endangering national security' since Beijing's national security law came into effect.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution 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, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
Separate from 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 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.
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