Hong Kong rushes to beef up security law, cementing China’s grip
The swift roll-out underscores the government’s urgency in reinforcing security controls as geopolitical frictions grow
[HONG KONG] Hong Kong fast-tracked new national security rules that further consolidate Beijing’s control over the financial hub, with the changes taking effect immediately.
The government on Tuesday (May 13) gazetted measures to facilitate the work of Beijing’s national security office in the city, including new penalties for failing to comply with investigations. Premises used by the body – known as the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) – will be designated “prohibited places”, according to an official statement.
The swift roll-out underscores the government’s urgency in reinforcing security controls as geopolitical frictions grow. Beijing’s reaction to Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s sale of port assets – including two in Panama – amid the US-China trade war has already prompted some wealthy investors to reassess their exposure to the former British colony.
The legislation was made just a day after the authorities disclosed the proposals for it, using a so-called negative vetting process that allows the law to take effect before being reviewed by lawmakers. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said the measures fulfil a constitutional duty to counter “increasingly turbulent global geopolitical” risks, without naming any country.
“The new regulations bring us a step closer to normalising the mainland office as a law enforcement body in Hong Kong with suitable protections under the law,” said Simon Young, a legal professor at the University of Hong Kong.
The rules include provisions requiring public servants to assist the OSNS and granting immunity from civil liability to anyone who complies with the office’s orders. Disclosing an investigation by the OSNS or failing to follow its directives can result in up to seven years in prison.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Beijing is effectively carving up “’extra-territorial’ pockets for China’s criminal system within Hong Kong”, according to Victoria Hui, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame. Hong Kong maintains a separate and independent judicial system from mainland China.
Hui said allowing Beijing to handle national security cases in the city helps minimise potential backlash to what she called repression. “Extraditing political prisoners across the border still looks bad,” she said, referring to Hong Kong’s controversial 2019 attempt to pass legislation to allow fugitive transfers to the mainland.
Prohibited sites
The government marked six sites as prohibited areas, including a hotel in the Causeway Bay neighbourhood that was turned into the OSNS’s temporary office and two locations in Kowloon being built into permanent sites for the agency. Entering such places without a permit is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine.
The new rules were gazetted as subsidiary legislation under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – a local law passed last year to complement the Beijing-imposed national security law enacted in 2020.
That earlier law, introduced after widespread pro-democracy protests triggered by the since-withdrawn 2019 extradition bill, permits the OSNS to assume jurisdiction in cases deemed complex due to the involvement of a foreign country or posing major and imminent threats to national security.
Authorities maintain the laws have restored stability and argue they do not affect the general public or normal business operations. BLOOMBERG
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
