National Security Bill passed without much discussion

The National Security Law Amendment Bill was passed yesterday unanimously in parliament with only two questions raised by lawmaker Ron Lam.

When the second reading reached Clauses 5 and 6 of Article 1 of the now Amendment Law, Lam asked questions about state secrets. He first pointed out that Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak had assured the parliament’s First Standing Committee that the definition and relevant procedures about this issue will be stated in another Bill – Defending State Secret Bill – currently under scrutiny by the same committee.

Then he asked the Secretary, who sat in yesterday’s plenary, for some points of clarification. For example, he questioned, if a person comes in contact with a document that is later identified by the government to be a state secret, will this person be prosecuted for viewing the document?

In response, Wong reiterated this law upholds the principle of deliberate violation, meaning that an act will only be considered in contravention of the Bill when the perpetrator understands the nature of the material and intentionally violates it.

As such, “the example [of the person] given by Lawmaker Lam will not be subject to prosecution,” Wong said.

When the session touched on Clause 5-A of Article 2 of the law, Lam raised concerns over the stipulations on contact with external organizations.

He worried that “people will raise a ruckus over this stipulation” and suggested the secretary better explain this stipulation. He added that, in fact, the preceding stipulation defines the criteria as one in which contacts would be considered criminal.

Wong, in response, agreed with the lawmaker’s view and pledged to raise better awareness in future.

Following the issue of public concern about the Amendment Law, in his voting declaration, Lam adopted an opposite view in urging the Secretary to better educate the public so that innocent people do not fall victim to national security breaches or into traps.

He also demanded the government strike a balance between safeguarding national security and honoring people’s legal and human rights. The law, he said, should not jeopardize a person’s right to criticize the government.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Ma Io Fong calls for the use of technology to safeguard national security.