The Government today began a public consultation on its Basic Law Article 23 legislation, with Chief Executive John Lee stressing that the freedoms and rights lawfully enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong will be respected and safeguarded.

Announcing the consultation exercise at a press conference this morning, Mr Lee said the Government proposes in its consultation paper that a new Safeguarding National Security Ordinance be enacted to comprehensively address present national security risks and others that may emerge in the future in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Citing the “colour revolution” of 2019 as an example of a recent risk, Mr Lee said the Hong Kong SAR has a constitutional duty to legislate for Article 23 of the Basic Law, as well as a genuine practical need to do so.

“We cannot afford to wait. It is for 26 years we have been waiting; we should not wait any longer. The threats to national security, they are real. We have experienced all these threats. We have suffered from them badly.

“We do not want to go through that painful experience again.”

The consultation paper recommends that the ordinance should cover five major types of acts and activities endangering national security. These are treason and related acts; insurrection, incitement to mutiny and disaffection, and acts with seditious intention; theft of state secrets and espionage; sabotage endangering national security, and related activities; and external interference.

Some new offences are also proposed to prevent, suppress and impose punishment for various types of acts and activities endangering national security.

Mr Lee iterated that the consultation exercise will be conducted in an open manner and that the freedoms and rights of citizens will be respected.

“Our whole consultation process will be open. We will be conducting different sessions to explain our proposal and will welcome views, whether those views relate to points we make in the consultation document or beyond.

“We are confident, we are proud and we stand high because the principles we adopt conform with the international standard, and we are doing it in exactly the same way as other countries are doing.

“We will be respecting and safeguarding the freedoms and rights lawfully enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong, by organisations in Hong Kong.

“Rights and freedoms as stipulated in Basic Law Article 27, as specified in the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, in the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, will all be respected and carried out in Hong Kong, and it will be recognised in the legislation we will be proposing.

“The law we are legislating will have no element at all about sending any arrested persons in Hong Kong to the Mainland, so that is very clear. It is legislation to deal with the activities in Hong Kong, in Hong Kong trials, according to Hong Kong laws.”

Members of the public may express their opinions on or before February 28. They may submit their views by email, by fax to 2868 5074, or by post to Security Bureau at 10/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar.