‘Make law clear’: John Lee defends plan to give Hong Kong leader power to certify criminal acts as nat. sec offences

“A Hong Kong government proposal that will allow the city’s leader to certify criminal acts as national security offences is intended to “make the law clear,” Chief Executive John Lee has said. Chief Executive John Lee at a press conference on January 27, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Lee said the new subsidiary legislation for Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23, “is purely to make the law even clearer.” The proposal of the new legislation, which was submitted to the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Monday, has yet to come into force. Authorities have said the piece of legislation would be enacted through a “negative vetting” procedure, in which it would take effect upon being gazetted. Under the proposal, the chief executive will be able to certify “other offences endangering national security” under Hong Kong law. Criminal cases classified as endangering national security will have tougher court procedures, such as a higher bar for bail and trial before designated judges. “The purpose of introducing the subsidiary legislation is to make it clear, make it much, much clearer, how offences… endangering national security under the law of Hong Kong will be so classified,” Lee told reporters on Tuesday. “It is not intended and will not expand the definition of the offences, and it’s not adding any new offences or any new powers or punishments. It also does not expand the scope of the application of the law,” he added. ‘Sensitive’ information Lee said the new piece of legislation would reduce “controversy or debate in court” about what constitutes national security offences. Asked whether he was concerned about giving an impression of further centralising power into his hands, Lee said the city’s chief executive must shoulder the “important responsibility” of safeguarding national security. Lee said he would exercise the new power with “prudence and seriousness,” but added that, as city leader, he has access to exclusive information regarding threats to national security. A lot of activities endangering national security “are committed by state players of another place. They are professional, sophisticated, and the series of information that may be available to indicate the seriousness of the matters [is] privy to the chief executive,” he said. “A lot of this information is sensitive and not suitable for public disclosure,” he added. Under the government proposal, the certificate issued by the chief executive will be binding on the city’s courts and cannot be challenged. China’s national flags and Hong Kong flags are displayed in the city on September 30, 2025, a day before the 76th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said the designation of national security offences involves “highly confidential” information that would not be available to the courts. “The judiciary would not be capable of making such a decision,” Lam said. Asked whether the chief executive’s certificates will be announced, Lam only said “people will know” as court proceedings are open to the public. “If you see designated judges or other special arrangements in a trial, you will know” that the case has been designated as relating to national security, he said.

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