Pro-Beijing Hong Kong Lawmakers Support New Security Law

"When you compare the national security of the People's Republic of China and the safety of its people, the stock performance with the Hong Kong stock market pales into insignificance," says pro-Beijing lawmaker Martin Liao Cheung-kong. He was joined by fellow establishment politician Regina Ip, at a press conference in LegCo, Hong Kong's legislative council.

They were speaking after pro-democracy politicians protested a new security law proposed by Beijing. The bill would allow for the establishment of entities to enforce its provisions. It would also affirm Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s obligation to administer national security education in the special administrative region and require her to submit regular reports.

“The increasingly notable national security risks in the HKSAR have become a prominent problem,” Xinhua said, citing the document. “Law-based and forceful measures must be taken to prevent, stop and punish such activities.”

Earlier, Premier Li Keqiang pledged to “establish sound legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security” in Hong Kong and in the neighboring region of Macau.

Although Hong Kong is constitutionally required to pass national security laws by Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, successive governments have failed to pass them -- with one effort in 2003 resulting in widespread street demonstrations. This new legal strategy could potentially allow authorities to skip the local legislative process, although the mechanics of how that would work remained unclear.

The move sets up a potential election-year showdown with Trump, who has come under pressure in Washington to reconsider the special trading status before the city’s return to Chinese rule under a promise to maintain its liberal financial and political structure. On Thursday, Trump warned that the U.S. would respond to any move to curtail protests and democratic movements in Hong Kong.

The legislation would still require several procedural steps including approval by the NPC’s decision-making Standing Committee, which could come as early as next month, the South China Morning Post reported. The move comes before citywide elections in September in which opposition members hoped to gain an unprecedented majority of the Legislative Council.

Danny Gittings, an academic who wrote the “Introduction to the Hong Kong Basic Law,” said a chief executive could only implement such laws by proclamation if the wording is identical to the Chinese national law. The anthem measure, which was similarly imposed in 2017, still hasn’t been passed by the Legislative Council.

“Even if it’s not a law enforceable in Hong Kong, it could still have a strong symbolic impact,” Gittings said.

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