National Security bill on the way to AL
The new National Security bill has passed the Executive Council’s (ExCo) preliminary procedures and analysis the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said Friday in the ExCo press conference.
The Secretary said the bill is moving to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for debate and voting.
Wong said the draft law guarantees and protects people’s freedom and rights, noting this protection is on the condition that the state’s security is not endangered.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice and ExCo spokesperson, Andre Cheong, also not the bill protects both the state’s security and human rights.
At the same press conference, the Security chief said there had recently been several instances of “external forces,” influencing Macau. He said this has justified the creation of the new law but, as on previous occasions, he declined to provide any concrete information or detail about what kind of external influence was occurring, who was behind it and with what purpose.
Preferring to use examples from Hong Kong, Wong said “there are some media outlets that travel abroad frequently to meet and receive instructions,” and also some “groups that receive training from external organizations.” He did not specifying what type of training or instructions were received but said they were aimed at disrupting China’s sovereignty and rule over the Special Administrative Region.
Debate over lawyer eligibility in HK would not happen in Macau
Asked about the decision from Hong Kong’s top court to dismiss the Hong Kong government’s appeal against a decision allowing a British lawyer to defend media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who has been charged with crimes related to national security, Wong said such a case could not arise in Macau.
Without commenting on the case’s particulars, the local Security Chief said that in Macau only lawyers registered with the Macau Lawyers Association (AAM) can practice law and represent clients in court, remarking that local rules are “different from the ones in Hong Kong.”
However, Wong did not exclude the possibility that local regulations might need to be amended.
In the Hong Kong case, the Department of Justice had sought to ban overseas lawyers from participating in national security cases apart from in exceptional cases, after losing its bid to block Timothy Owen from representing Lai in lower courts.
