New committee and permanent secretariat to ‘reinforce defense of country’ interests

[Photo; Renato Marques]

The Executive Council (ExCo) introduced a new bill yesterday to establish a National Security Committee (CDSE) to oversee all national security-related work.

As explained by the Secretary for Administration and Justice and ExCo spokesperson, Wong Sio Chak, the new committee builds on the work currently distributed across departments and groups and consolidates it under a single umbrella.

He further explained that, concurrently with the new CDSE bill, a new Permanent Secretariat will be created via a Chief Executive (CE) order to support this committee and handle a wide range of national security functions, including legal matters, implementation, and education.

“The current office is not a permanent structure. The main point is to establish a specific secretariat to coordinate national security work, both legally and in implementation,” Wong said to the media, adding, “There is also a need for education work, particularly for children and teenagers, and CDSE is also responsible for this work.”

He explained that the new Permanent Secretary will be part of the CDSE’s operations, establishing a system similar to the one currently in place in Hong Kong.

According to Wong, the Permanent Secretariat will be established by an executive regulation that will be paired with the bill and enter into force simultaneously, and will soon be sent to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for discussion and approval.

Wong also explained, in response to media inquiries, that the CDSE will be chaired by the CE, Sam Hou Fai, and will have the Secretary for Security serve as secretary.

Remarking on other laws that need to be amended to align with the establishment of this new committee, Wong said that, as is common practice in Macau, the other laws will not be individually amended but will undergo only small adjustments to align with this new bill.

For instance, there is a need to amend Law 9/1999 (Judicial Organization Framework Law) to establish exceptional provisions for judicial hearings and special jurisdiction situations when matters fall within the scope of national security.

When questioned on the topic, Wong noted that details will be available in full when the draft reaches the AL, but that this mostly concerns cases in which judges can decide whether hearings or trials are open to the public or held behind closed doors.

Wong explained that under the current law, the matter primarily relates to criminal cases, but there is now an intention to broaden the scope to include civil and administrative cases that do not necessarily constitute crimes.

He also explained that judges will receive the CDSE’s opinions on the cases and that these opinions will be legally binding.

According to the proposal reviewed and approved by the ExCo, the new law will take effect the day after its publication in the government’s Official Gazette.

Commenting on the nature and purpose, he added that the bill, as presented, aims to “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, development interests, and national security, while maintaining social stability.”

Another law that must be amended to integrate this new bill is Law 15/2017 (Budget Framework Law), which should include a special expenditure and staffing regime for the CDSE.

The ongoing amendments to the Macau legal system to safeguard national security have been a priority for Sam since he took office.

In the presentation, officials noted that the bill will “effectively expand the scope of countering external interference and ensure that national security interests are not compromised.”