'HK has duty to safeguard national security'

Hong Kong faces the same responsibility as the rest of the nation in safeguarding national security despite having a separate legal system, Deng Zhonghua, a deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Monday.

The proposed national security legislation will become an amulet for the special administrative region to guarantee its long-term prosperity and stability, he said at a seminar on Basic Law in Shenzhen.

The national security law, once enacted, will be an organic part of the local legal system, which no local legislation should contravene, he added.

The proposed law aims at closing a legal loophole in national security in the SAR. It is currently being drafted by the Standing Committee of the nation's top legislature – the National People's Congress (NPC). It aims to outlaw four types of acts – secession, subversion, terrorism and conspiracy with external forces.

While drafting the law, the NPC should make clear in the legislation the central government's power to enforce the law in Hong Kong, said Deng.

Though the major responsibility of enforcing the national security law and the prosecution process will be bestowed upon the SAR following promulgation of the law, the central government should retain its jurisdictions over some special situations where national security is grossly compromised, he said.

Such special situations however will be few, Deng added.

The central government will establish national security agencies to oversee national security-related issues and build a coordination mechanism with local national security bodies, he said.

Despite differences between legal and judicial systems of the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, the established and recognized principles adopted by the criminal law systems on the mainland, which are no different from those in Hong Kong, should be incorporated into the tailor-made law for Hong Kong, said Deng.

These principles include the presumption of innocence and the right of the accused to defend themselves, he added.

Addressing the seminar, Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, said he believes the enactment of the national security law would earn the city stronger support from the central government, which will create broader development prospects for Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" framework.