Policy Address
Safeguarding National Security
8. The National Security Law was promulgated for implementation on 30 June last year. Since then, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR which I chair and the relevant enforcement authorities, under the guidance of the National Security Adviser appointed by the Central Government and with the support of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, have spared no effort to fulfil our responsibility to prevent, suppress and punish acts and activities that endanger national security in accordance with the law. That said, to safeguard national security in a comprehensive manner, there is still a substantial amount of work for the HKSAR Government, including:
- taking forward proactively the enactment of local legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong. By making reference to past studies and information, the implementation experience of the National Security Law and relevant court verdicts, as well as taking into account the actual circumstances in Hong Kong, the Secretary for Security is drawing up effective and pragmatic proposals and provisions, and formulating effective publicity programmes to prevent those who are opposed to China and attempt to destabilise Hong Kong from taking advantage of the situation to mislead the public with ill intentions;
- reviewing or reviving existing legislation to ensure that, on the mission of comprehensively safeguarding national security, relevant laws are available to the enforcement authorities for action and strict enforcement, so as to bring offenders to account. The Film Censorship (Amendment) Bill 2021 already scrutinised by the LegCo is one of the examples. Other issues which need to be addressed include combating fake news and safeguarding cyber security. The Chief Secretary for Administration will co-ordinate the relevant work;
- strengthening the work on the prevention of terrorist activities and proactively strengthening public communication, guidance, supervision and regulation measures over matters concerning national security, including those relating to schools, social organisations, the media and the internet. In this regard, the Secretary for Education has already requested schools to formulate and implement as early as possible plans on national security education;
- strengthening national security education and raising law-abiding and national security awareness of Hong Kong people, in particular the youth, through different activities and approaches. I am pleased to note that under the leadership of the Secretary for Security, the six disciplined services and the two auxiliary services are committed to enhancing their work in helping young people develop positive thinking and law-abiding awareness. For example, the Correctional Services Department will launch the Walk with YOUth Programme and set up a Change Lab to assist young persons in custody; and
- implementing further the oath-taking requirements for public officers as stipulated in Article 6 of the National Security Law and the amended local legislation, including for example all members of the just-formed Election Committee.
