Hong Kong’s own Article 23 national security law on the cards for 2024, legislative agenda for year reveals
- Top government adviser suggests some public consultation could be skipped to avoid potential delays to ‘Safeguarding National Security Bill’
- City’s two major lawyers’ groups say widespread consultation needed to ensure bill takes human rights into account
The city’s two major lawyers’ groups weighed in, saying that a widespread and thorough consultation was needed to ensure the bill took human rights into account.
The “Safeguarding National Security Bill” was on the 29-item annual legislative programme submitted by the government’s Administration Wing, which listed bills planned to be introduced to the legislature this year.
The Legislative Council document said the bill, put forward by the Security Bureau, was designed to “implement Article 23 of the Basic Law, to enhance relevant laws for safeguarding national security, and to provide for related matters”.
Article 23 of the city’s mini-constitution requires Hong Kong to enact its own laws to penalise acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the central government.
