In response to the deliberation by the National People’s Congress (NPC) of a draft Decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security (“the Decision”), the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, who is attending the opening ceremony of the third session of the 13th NPC in Beijing, issued the following statement:
“The HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China. It is a local administrative region which shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People’s Government. Safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the constitutional requirement of the HKSAR, the duty of the HKSAR Government, and also in the interest of all the Hong Kong residents. In view of the increasingly serious situation the HKSAR is facing in relation to national security and the difficulty of the executive and legislative authorities of the HKSAR to complete on their own legislation for safeguarding national security in the foreseeable future, the HKSAR Government supports the NPC’s deliberation of the Decision to establish and improve at the national level the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security.”
To read more click here to view the full statement. Your BLCC is always concerned about any legal / political changes that can impact our business community. With the best interests of our business communities in mind we will follow the developments around this issue while continuing to advocate for constructive debate between all parties involved for the purposes of maintaining Hong Kong’s attractive & competitive business driven economy . Keep an eye on our website for the latest relevant news.
The Department of Justice published a blog post about the legal framework & background for the proposal of the Draft Decision: https://www.doj.gov.hk/eng/public/blog/20200524_blog1.html