ExCo | CE and police chiefs to form national security commission

The Chief Executive (CE) and a contingent of leaders from the security sector will form the region’s future National Security Commission, according to an administrative regulation draft announced yesterday by the Chief Executive Council (ExCo).

The regulation proposes to establish the Macau SAR’s National Security Defense Commission (CDSE).

“The commission is the organization which assists the CE in making decisions related to national security defense, and is the responsible organization for the implementation of the commission’s policies related to national security defense matters,” the CE Council spokesperson Leong Heng Teng revealed.

The commission will also be responsible for “studying the implementation of relevant instructions and requirements from the CE; analyzing situations related to national security and to society’s stability, with consequent drafting of relevant plans; assisting in making policies for the SAR’s national security protection; pushing forward the establishment of Macau’s legal system related to national security.”

According to the proposal, the commission will be chaired by the CE, with the Secretary for Security taking the role of the vice-chairman.

Other members of the CDSE include the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Commissioner-General of the Unitary Police Service, chief of the Office of the Chief Executive, Chief of the Office of the Secretary for Security, the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, Director of the Judiciary Police, one advisor of the Office of the Chief Executive, and one advisor of the Office of the Secretary for Security.

The establishment of the Office of the Macau SAR State Security Defense Commission (GCDSE) has also been proposed. The office will be a permanent department within the commission. GCDSE’s main duties will consist in implementing, assisting and following up the commission’s decisions.

The GCDSE’s chief and deputy chief will be the Secretary for Security and the Chief of the Judiciary Police, respectively.

Since the draft is an administrative regulation, it will not go through the Legislative Assembly (AL), and will come into effect 30 days after its official publication.

When questioned by the media, Leong claimed that “the commission is not the law enforcement agency, nor is it a consultative organization. The commission makes decisions.”

According to Leong, the CDSE will have meetings at least once every half-year to discuss the implementation of national security protection works in Macau.

As to the reasons that prompted the government not to make this regulation a law bill which would need AL’s approval, Leong said nonetheless that “it has all been handled according to Macau’s law.”

In the past, different government principal officials said that the city would need to make changes to face new national security challenges.

Yesterday, the ExCo spokesperson also stated that “in the past, state security was only about military. Now, national security [has] changed from its traditional norms into a new normal, therefore it [the law] needed to catch up.”

“It is a part of the commission’s function to set up an operation system and mechanism. I cannot say which part will be done first,” said Leong regarding the first step the CDSE would take.   

Food safety regulation announced

The Executive Council completed discussion on the city’s 10th regulation of limitation on levels of metallic contamination in food. The administrative regulation set the maximum levels of metallic contaminants in food. The local government referred to both international and local standards, in particular to mainland China’s standards, during the process of the establishment.