Gov’t believes tightening National Security Law necessary

Secretary for Administration and Justice, André Cheong, has said that further refinement of the national security law is essential. Speaking in his capacity as the spokesperson for the Executive Council, Cheong said that he expects the refinement will need to be made quickly.
The Secretary’s comments come in the aftermath of a controversial national security law passed by mainland authorities on behalf of semi-autonomous Hong Kong. The law is much stricter than the equivalent legislation in Macau, prompting some politicians and observers to call for a refinement of Macau’s existing national security law.
After the Council’s plenary yesterday, Cheong said that studies are being conducted to determine what the national security law reform could look like.
The direction of the reform will include institutionalizations of crimes, as well as the enforcement of the laws and the degree thereof.
Cheong further pointed out that although the city’s parliament passed the law in 2009, complementary laws must be made to improve the safety net.
A National Security Defense Committee was inaugurated in 2018 to study such issues.
Last week, a special office of the mainland was inaugurated in Hong Kong to oversee national security issues. It has been proposed that Macau establish a similar office in tandem with Hong Kong. However, Cheong said yesterday that it was up to Beijing to decide if a new office was necessary in Macau.
Meanwhile, the Legislative Assembly is studying the Special Career Legal Framework for Judiciary Police. As explained by Cheong, it is a law-enforcement legal framework for the National Security Law.
At present the government has no reform details regarding the national security law to disclose. Nor does it have a timetable, according to Cheong.
However, the secretary pledged that the government will listen the opinions of society while formulating the law revision. AL