Today, the draft legislation on Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law (referred to as the "Article 23 legislation") - the "Maintenance of National Security Bill" was officially submitted to the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for review.
Article 23 legislation "This problem that has plagued Hong Kong for more than 26 years" will finally be solved!
On March 8, the "Maintaining National Security Bill" was submitted to the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council for review.
Photo by China News Service reporter Li Zhihua
What is Article 23 legislation?
Why is Article 23 legislation needed?
What different effects will there be after Article 23 is enacted?
Article 23 legislation, as the name suggests, refers to the legislation surrounding Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law.
Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law stipulates: “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact legislation on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion of the Central People’s Government and theft of state secrets, and prohibit foreign political organizations or groups from conducting political activities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. , prohibiting political organizations or groups in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or groups."
To briefly summarize, Hong Kong must formulate its own laws and prohibit all behaviors that endanger national security.
Even though it is just a simple piece of legislation, it has been "noisy" and absent from Hong Kong for more than 26 years.
Due to the absence of relevant laws, Hong Kong has experienced many difficulties and ups and downs.
National security has been repeatedly attacked.
On March 8, the "Maintaining National Security Bill" was submitted to the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council for review.
Photo by China News Service reporter Li Zhihua
From the illegal "Occupy Central" in 2014, to the "Mong Kok Riots" in 2016, and then to the "revision disturbance" in 2019, Hong Kong's rule of law and freedom have been seriously affected, leaving indelible scars on the "Pearl of the Orient". It also damages the country's interests and image.
"The Article 23 legislation should not wait any longer. Hong Kong cannot wait and cannot afford to wait." As the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chiu, said at the press conference for public consultation on the Article 23 legislation, today, it is Hong Kong that has made up for this. A "vacant" time.
As a result, the Hong Kong SAR government launched a public consultation on 23 pieces of legislation from January 30 to February 28 this year.
In the past month, the SAR government has organized nearly 30 consultation meetings with people from all walks of life to explain in detail the recommendations in the consultation document.
About 3,000 people participated in the consultation meeting, and the vast majority of participants expressed support for the legislation.
In addition, during the public consultation period, the SAR government received more than 13,000 opinions, of which 98.64% expressed support and provided positive opinions, while another 0.65% simply raised questions or expressed opinions that did not reflect their position.
These data are enough to prove that the 23 pieces of legislation have a strong public base.
On the basis of these opinions, the SAR government completed the "Bill on Safeguarding National Security" and submitted it to the Legislative Council for review.
The bill has 212 pages and is divided into nine parts. It provides detailed and clear definitions of relevant crimes and concepts, and also includes provisions that need to ensure respect for and protection of human rights.
It also clearly states: "Those who are criminal acts stipulated by law shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the law; those who are not stipulated as criminal acts by law shall not be convicted and punished." "Everyone is presumed innocent until convicted by a judicial authority."
On March 8, the "Maintaining National Security Bill" was submitted to the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council for review.
The picture shows the Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Tang Bingqiang, moving the second reading of the bill at the Legislative Council.
Photo by China News Service reporter Li Zhihua
Some people may ask, doesn’t Hong Kong have laws to safeguard national security?
Why build a new one?
Indeed, in order to effectively prevent and punish acts that endanger national security, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress formulated the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020 and implemented it in Hong Kong as a national law.
Ho Kin-chung, a member of the expert group of the Chief Executive's Policy Group and founder and chairman of the "One Country, Two Systems" Youth Forum, said that the Hong Kong National Security Law is a central legislation, and the Article 23 legislation is a measure of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's own legislation in accordance with the Basic Law, aiming to fulfill the SAR government's duty to safeguard national security. Responsibility.
"Although the legislative procedures and subjects are different, both are aimed at safeguarding national security and preventing any behavior that may endanger national security." He Jianzong said that they are complementary to each other in their common goals and cannot replace each other.
After the completion of Article 23 legislation, the two will form a complementary and mutually supportive legal system to ensure Hong Kong's stability and national security.