BEIJING – The jurisdiction of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) only targets the very few criminal cases that severely endanger national security, a senior lawmaker said yesterday.
Shen Chunyao, head of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, made the remarks at a press conference on the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which came into force on Tuesday.
Under the law, the office shall exercise jurisdiction over a case concerning the endangering of national security, if: the case is complex due to the involvement of a foreign country or external elements, thus making it difficult for the HKSAR to exercise jurisdiction over the case; a serious situation occurs where the HKSAR government is unable to effectively enforce this law; or a major and imminent threat to national security has occurred.
“We are unwilling to see Hong Kong facing difficulties and major and imminent threats to national security, but institutional building must take all risks and factors into consideration,” Shen said.The initiating procedure of the jurisdiction of the office over cases that severely endanger national security in the HKSAR has very strict and specific stipulations, which are stipulated in Articles 55, 56 and 57 of the law, he said.
Such stipulations are a significant demonstration of the central government’s overall governance over the HKSAR according to China’s Constitution and the HKSAR Basic Law, and will better support the HKSAR’s effective law enforcement and jurisdiction, according to Shen. – Xinhua
