Hong Kong's New National Security Law to Be Used Sparingly, Officials Say

Hong Kong’s new legislation allowing certain criminal cases to be handled under national security procedures is expected to be used only rarely, with the city leader typically issuing such certification before trial, security and justice officials have said.

A Legislative Council subcommittee completed its scrutiny of the Safeguarding National Security (Procedural Matters) Regulation during a meeting on Thursday that lasted around two hours.

The regulation empowers the chief executive to define specific offences as endangering national security.

Cases so classified will be subject to all procedures applicable to national security offences, including longer detention periods, stricter bail conditions and trials before designated judges.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the new classification mechanism would be used sparingly, noting that existing laws already covered most acts and activities that threaten national security.

“Classifying an offence endangering national security through a certificate issued by the chief executive is expected to be extremely rare,” Tang said.