‘Make law clear’: John Lee defends plan to give Hong Kong leader power to certify criminal acts as nat. sec offences

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is defending a government proposal that would empower the city's leader to certify criminal acts as national security offenses. Lee stated at a press conference on Tuesday that the new subsidiary legislation for the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23, is intended to "make the law clear."

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The purpose of introducing the subsidiary legislation is to make it clear, make it much, much clearer, how offences… endangering national security under the law of Hong Kong will be so classified.

The proposal, submitted to the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Monday, is set to be enacted through a "negative vetting" procedure, taking effect upon being gazetted. Under the plan, the chief executive can certify "other offences endangering national security" under Hong Kong law. Cases classified as such will face stricter court procedures, including higher bail requirements and trials before designated judges.

Lee emphasized that the legislation aims to clarify how offenses endangering national security will be classified, asserting it will not expand the definition of existing offenses, add new ones, or increase powers or punishments. He argued that the new legislation would reduce "controversy or debate in court" regarding what constitutes national security offenses.

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It is not intended and will not expand the definition of the offences, and it’s not adding any new offences or any new powers or punishments. It also does not expand the scope of the application of the law.

Responding to concerns about centralizing power, Lee stated that the chief executive bears the "important responsibility" of safeguarding national security. He noted that much of the information indicating the seriousness of national security threats is privy to the chief executive, often involves "state players of another place," and is "sensitive and not suitable for public disclosure."

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A lot of activities endangering national security are committed by state players of another place. They are professional, sophisticated, and the series of information that may be available to indicate the seriousness of the matters [is] privy to the chief executive.

The government proposal stipulates that the certificate issued by the chief executive will be binding on the courts and cannot be challenged. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam also commented that the designation of national security offenses involves "highly confidential" information.

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A lot of this information is sensitive and not suitable for public disclosure.