01 point of view
Written by: Review Editor Room
2020-06-21 14:30
Last update date: 2020-06-21 14:30The Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress explained the draft of the “National Security Law of the Port Area” at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Saturday (20th). Although the National Security Law is mainly implemented by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Central People’s Government will establish a station in Hong Kong to maintain national security. The Office of the People's Republic of China exercises jurisdiction over a very small number of criminal cases that endanger national security under certain circumstances. The Central People's Government has a hand in the "National Security Act of the Hong Kong District". For some people in Hong Kong or "putting a knife", the mutual trust between the Central People's Government and Hong Kong will naturally become the key to the future.
The Legal Affairs Commission’s statement includes six “clear”, the sixth of which is “clearly stipulate the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to maintain the national security agency”, the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to maintain the National Security Agency, supervision, guidance, coordination, Support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in fulfilling its duties of maintaining national security, collecting and analyzing national security intelligence information, etc.
What is more concerned is that in addition to daily supervision, the National Security Office will also exercise jurisdiction over a very small number of crimes that endanger national security under certain circumstances with the relevant national authorities, and the fifth "clear" "except in certain circumstances, The expression "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region exercises jurisdiction over criminal cases under this Law" clearly corresponds. We can understand that under normal circumstances, the enforcement and interrogation of the "National Security Act of the Hong Kong District" are all under the responsibility of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, but in special cases, the enforcement and interrogation are handled by the Central People's Government.
At that time, the Secretary for Justice Liang Aishi still described the 23 pieces of legislation as "like having a knife on your head." This time the arrangement of the "National Security Act of the Hong Kong District" will inevitably make some Hong Kong people think that the central government has placed a knife in Hong Kong. . (Profile picture)
Compared with the 23 draft laws of the 2003 Basic Law, the law enforcement and interrogation are all the responsibility of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and there is no such special situation. At that time, the Secretary for Justice Liang Aishi still described the 23 pieces of legislation as "like having a knife on your head." This time the arrangement of the "National Security Act of the Hong Kong District" will inevitably make some Hong Kong people think that the central government has placed a knife in Hong Kong. . However, the legislative background and actual needs of the "National Security Act of the Hong Kong District" have been very different from those of the previous year, and the legislator has changed from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the Central Government. The Central Government has left its own hands in the National Security Law, which is not an unpredictable arrangement.
Tracing back to the source, the central government decided to keep a knife in Hong Kong, not only because safeguarding national security is the responsibility of the central government, but also reflects its distrust of Hong Kong society and the ability of the SAR government. Distrust of society, because last year’s demonstrations ranged from the initial anti-revision laws to the national emblem and national flag, and even the slogan "Hong Kong Independence" appeared; The international situation in Shanghai is complex, and espionage and other activities may not be able to cope with the Hong Kong government.
On the other hand, citizens feel like they are putting their swords on their heads because of distrust of the central government. There have been news of improper prosecution and interrogation by mainland rights activists. Hong Kong people have always had limited confidence in the implementation of the rule of law by mainland officials. The Hong Kong legal community may also take the interpretation of the Basic Law as an example, believing that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress should have interpreted the law in very few special circumstances, but in reality the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has interpreted the law more often than they expected, and may More and more frequently, in order to question whether the National Security Office and the relevant agencies will really take action in very few cases only under certain circumstances. In addition, this time the National Security Law was enacted by the Central Government for Hong Kong instead of Hong Kong’s own legislation. It may also cause the public to worry about the Central Government’s future self-restraint.
After being detained in the "709" incident in 2015, Mainland rights activist lawyer Wang Quanzhang had no news at all. (Profile picture)
Under mutual distrust, the "knife" of the National Security Law caused doubts and controversy in the society, which is inevitable. On the one hand, the SAR government must convince the central government that they can shoulder the responsibility and effectively and professionally maintain national security in the space of "one country, two systems", without the need of the National Security Agency or relevant units. But on the other hand, I believe that there is no simple way to suddenly reassure the central government of Hong Kong, or let the Hong Kong society fully regain trust in the central government. The test of confidence in the Central Government and Hong Kong was originally the key to "one country, two systems." It can even be said that the design of "one country, two systems" is perfect, and if the central government and Hong Kong lose mutual trust, "one country, two systems" cannot go far.
Since the loss of confidence is the cause of the current situation, the solution to the problem is to rebuild mutual trust. In this process, not only should the central government listen to the voices of Hong Kong society, but Hong Kong people must also understand more about the central government's concerns. Naturally, whether the Hong Kong government can fulfill its role as a bridge is naturally the key. In the past 23 years, especially in the six years after the occupation movement, the conflict between the central government and Hong Kong has accumulated more and more. Now that the "Minato City National Security Law" is about to be enacted, will it create a new contradiction in the already terrible relationship, or will it cross the heavy mountains like events such as "one place, two inspections"? Perhaps it depends on whether the SAR government officials can do their part to promote the benign interaction between the central government and Hong Kong, and the fundamental issues will be resolved.
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