Political situation
Author: Zhai Ruimin
2020-06-30 23:40
Last update date: 2020-06-30 23:40The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced today (30th) the detailed provisions of the National Security Law of the Port Area. One of the focuses is that the Central Government will set up the National Security Agency in Hong Kong. It is the fourth flag erected by the Central Government in Hong Kong after the Central Liaison Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Commissioner’s Office in Hong Kong and the People’s Liberation Army Garrison in Hong Kong.
The provisions announced today set out the structure of the National Security Agency, including the structure of the National Security Agency and the National Security Council. Among them, the personnel of the National Security Agency stationed in Hong Kong are jointly dispatched by relevant agencies of the Central People’s Government to maintain national security and are responsible for supervision, guidance, coordination, and support of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Performed the duty of maintaining national security, but did not explain in detail the location of the National Security Agency. The National Security Committee of the Minato District is chaired by the Chief Executive. Its members include the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary, the Secretary for Justice, the Secretary for Security and the Commissioner of Police.
Another concern is that a dedicated team of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Secretary for Security, Li Jiachao, was interviewed by the media a few days ago. He said that the department will be put into operation on the first day of the passage of the law. It also admitted that expanding the establishment naturally involves applying for funding from the Legislative Council. However, the session of the Legislative Council will end on July 18. It is unlikely that the relevant appropriation will be passed before the end of the session. There is an opportunity to bypass the Legislative Council according to past practices and receive public funds from other funds or departments.
Public office personnel are dispatched by the relevant national security agencies
According to the "National Law Announcement 2020", the personnel of the National Security Agency (hereinafter referred to as "the Office") stationed in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are jointly dispatched by relevant agencies of the Central People's Government to maintain national security. The duties of the Office include analyzing and judging the situation of safeguarding the national security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, providing opinions and suggestions on major strategies and important policies for safeguarding the national security; supervising, guiding, coordinating and supporting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to perform its duties of maintaining the national security; collecting and analyzing national security intelligence information ; Handle crimes against national security according to law. The National Security Law of the Minato District requires the personnel of the Public Office to abide by national laws and the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and accept supervision by the national supervisory authority. The expenses of the public office shall be borne by the central government.
Three specific circumstances may exercise jurisdiction over the case
In addition, the National Security Office in Hong Kong can exercise jurisdiction over criminal cases under the "National Security Law of the Port Area" in specific circumstances. Specific circumstances refer to the following three situations proposed by the SAR Government or the Central Security Office in Hong Kong and reported to the Central People's Government for approval, including the complicated situation involving the involvement of foreign or foreign forces. The jurisdiction of the Hong Kong SAR is indeed difficult; The serious situation of the effective implementation of the National Security Law of the Port Area; the situation where national security is facing a major practical threat.
The location is not announced
According to the information searched, the Central Liaison Office at the former site of the Xinhua News Agency in Wan Chai was originally purchased in 2001 and moved to the Westport Center built by China Merchants; the land used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong was approved by the Hong Kong Government at a nominal land price of 1,000 yuan , Is a government site in Banluo Road, Mid-levels; and the garrison forces took over the 14 military sites and headquarters originally stationed by the British troops in Hong Kong according to the agreement of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group. Government burden.
According to this inference, there are three possibilities for the location of the National Security Office in Hong Kong: one is that the Hong Kong government allocates government land and collects a nominal land price, the other is that the central government purchases land or buildings on its own, and the third is to use the existing properties or offices of the Hong Kong government. It is worth mentioning that the Central Liaison Office holds at least 757 property units in Hong Kong, and the National Security Office also does not rule out the possibility of borrowing properties from the Central Liaison Office. As the fourth central agency in Hong Kong, I believe that the level of the National Security Agency must be no less than the deputy ministerial level of the Diplomatic Office and even the main ministerial level of the Liaison Office. In order to reflect the central government’s governance in Hong Kong and the importance it attaches to national security affairs, refer to The greatest opportunity is to establish an independent office building.
The Chief Executive of the National Security Committee of Minato District is the Chairman
In respect of the Hong Kong government, the National Security Act of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region requires the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to establish the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Maintenance National Security Committee" (the National Security Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). It is supervised and accountable by the Central People’s Government. Its members include the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary, the Secretary of Justice, the Director of the Security Bureau, the Chief of Police, and the Police in accordance with Article 16 of the National Security Act of the Minato City The head of the national security department, the director of the immigration department, the customs chief and the chief of the chief executive's office. The Minato District National Security Committee has a secretariat under the leadership of the Secretary-General, who is nominated by the Chief Executive and appointed by the Central People’s Government.
The responsibilities of the National Security Committee of the Central Finger Port Area were announced to analyze and judge the situation of safeguarding the national security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, plan related work, formulate policies, promote the construction of legal systems and enforcement mechanisms, and coordinate key work and major actions. The work of the National Security Committee of the Minato District is free from interference, work information is not disclosed, and decisions made are not subject to judicial review. In addition, the National Security Affairs Committee of the Minato District Security Committee is appointed by the Central People's Government. The National Security Affairs Consultant attends the meeting of the National Security Committee of the Minato District to provide advice on related matters. It is reported that the secretary-general of the National Security Council will be concurrently served by the director of the Chief Executive’s Office, and the current director of the Chief Executive’s Office is Chen Guoji.
Police Department and Department of Justice will set up new departments to deal specifically with national security affairs
The Police Department will form a new department, the structure and nature of which refer to the former Political Department. It will belong to the deputy director. A new deputy director position will be created to take charge of law enforcement matters related to national security laws. Some of the personnel will be transferred from the Ministry of Security.
According to the "National Security Act of the Minato City", the Police Department and the Department of Justice will set up special departments to deal with the maintenance of national security affairs. With regard to criminal cases provided for in the Port Area National Security Act, except for specific circumstances, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise jurisdiction, including prosecution, prosecution, trial, and execution of penalties, in accordance with the Port Area National Security Act and Hong Kong Local laws of the SAR. When the National Police Department maintains the national security department to handle national security crimes, it can take various measures approved by the current law of the Special Administrative Region to permit the police to investigate serious crimes, as well as other measures stipulated in the National Security Law of the Port Area, including those that have reasonable grounds to suspect crimes involving national security The interception of communications and secret surveillance, the search of premises, the request of relevant organizations or individuals to answer questions, provide information, remove information, etc., approved by the Chief Executive. The Minato District National Security Committee is authorized under the Minato City National Security Law to formulate relevant implementation rules for taking the above measures.
The special national security crime prosecution department of the Department of Justice is responsible for the prosecution of national security crime cases; no one may file a prosecution for a national security crime case without the written consent of the Director of Justice. The Secretary for Justice may issue a certificate on the grounds of protection of state secrets, etc. to instruct the relevant litigation to be conducted without a jury; if the Court of First Instance conducts the trial without a jury, it shall be composed of 3 judges. . Courts at all levels designate judges to be responsible for hearing crimes against national security. Except for state secrets, trials should be conducted in public, and the results of judgments should be publicly announced. The "appointed judge" is appointed by the Chief Executive after consulting the Chief Judge of the National Security Committee of the Minato City and the Court of Final Appeal.
Director of the Security Bureau Li Jiachao said earlier that the Police Force will set up a new dedicated team for the National Security Law. Team members need to have strong analytical skills, insights and pass character reviews. The department also needs to provide relevant legal experts to provide support. The new department implies that the establishment needs to be expanded, but the Legislative Council session will end on the 18th of next month.
However, there is a precedent for the police to bypass the Legislative Council to obtain funding. The overtime pay for police officers is withdrawn from the "Police Welfare Fund". Overspending last year was used by the Financial Secretary to exercise power to receive 650 million yuan from other government departments. According to the "Public Finance Ordinance", the government may approve the establishment of funds for specific purposes with the approval of the Legislative Council. Of the nine statutory funds currently, the "Land Fund" is not limited to use and does not need to be approved by the Legislative Council. The Government has recently adopted the "Land Fund" Bypassing Legislative Council to invest in Cathay Pacific, which is facing bankruptcy. After Cathay Pacific received a grant of 30 billion yuan, the fund has a balance of 190 billion yuan, which is more than enough to support the establishment of a new department.
The Hong Kong version of the National Security Law
Hong Kong version of the National Security Law