Is it a coincidence of timing? China and Hong Kong made announcements on their national security this Friday, March 8. Beijing has announced that it will adopt new laws in 2024 in order to “safeguard its sovereignty”, a senior official said on Friday, against a backdrop of President Xi Jinping’s constant desire to eliminate any threat to his power.
The Communist government’s number three, Zhao Leji, made the announcement in Beijing during the current annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), of which he is chairman of the standing committee – the body of around 170 members who writes and votes on laws.
In his presentation of the legislative agenda for the coming year, Zhao Leji promised Friday that lawmakers would, among other things, work to “resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.” “In order to modernize China’s national security system and capacity”, China will adopt “an emergency management law, an energy law, an atomic energy law and a law on safety from dangerous chemicals,” he detailed in his speech.
The ANP, in fact very dependent on the ruling Communist Party, also plans to revise “the law on national defense education and the law on cybersecurity”, he declared to the deputies.
Anti-espionage
Zhao Leji did not give further details on the content of these new laws, nor on the precise date of their adoption. The annual session of Parliament each year in early March provides an opportunity for media, observers and ordinary Chinese to get a glimpse of the government’s strategy for the coming year. The ANP must also introduce and amend laws in areas ranging from financial stability to health.
“National defense education and cybersecurity are obvious priorities for Chinese lawmakers,” Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor and expert in Chinese politics based in Hong Kong, told AFP. “They want to strengthen the legal framework in these areas, this is one of Mr. Xi’s priorities.”
Last year, China approved a revised anti-espionage law that significantly broadens its definition, giving Beijing more power than ever to punish what it considers threats to national security.
“Priority area”
A state secrets law passed in February added new categories of sensitive information, including “working secrets,” that is, information that is not classified as state secrets but which could “impede the normal activities of (state) organs or work units” if disclosed.
“One of the main characteristics of parliamentary work under the Xi Jinping era (started at the end of 2012) is to emphasize laws relating to national security,” Changhao Wei, founder of the NPC website, told AFP Observer, specializing in the Chinese parliament. He recalls that more than a dozen pieces of legislation on national security have been adopted in China since 2014, including laws on the fight against terrorism, intelligence and data security.
“There has been significant work to put in place all the necessary legal infrastructure to safeguard ‘national security’,” underlines Changhao Wei. Under Xi Jinping, “national security is a priority area of legislation and will likely remain so for the near future.”
A new law in Hong Kong
At the same time, Hong Kong authorities unveiled plans for a new national security law that provides for offenses such as treason and insurrection, punishable by life in prison. This text must complement the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after the major pro-democracy demonstrations of 2019 in Hong Kong. It was officially presented on Friday morning to the Legislative Council (LegCo), where it will be subject to in-depth examination.
This new law responds to a “real and urgent need”, declared Chris Tang, the city’s security manager, before the deputies. “Hong Kong has suffered serious threats to national security,” he insisted, referring to the pro-democracy protests of 2019. The President of the Legislative Council, Andrew Leung, for his part promised that the deputies “will not would spare no effort and work together to address existing national security gaps.”
This bill lists five new categories of offenses in addition to those punished by the 2020 text: treason, insurrection, espionage, sabotage and foreign interference.
It proposes that treason, insurrection, sabotage endangering national security and inciting members of the Chinese army to rebellion be punishable by life imprisonment. The text also plans to broaden the notion of “sedition” (which dates from the British colonial era) to disaffection with the communist leadership and the Chinese socialist system. He also proposes to punish crimes of “sedition” more heavily, by increasing the maximum sentence from two to seven years.
Under the bill, Hong Kong authorities will be able to ask a court to detain a person without charge for up to 16 days and prohibit them from consulting a lawyer during their detention period. Like the 2020 text, this new national security law would apply to alleged offenses committed abroad.
Accelerator boost
The text also proposes adopting a new definition of “state secrets” – covering not only technology, but also “major political decisions” and the economic and social development of the city”. It also criminalizes the acquisition and possession of this type of information.
The Hong Kong authorities accelerated the legislative process and revealed the content of this new bill following a month of public consultations ending on February 28. After presenting the bill, the British consulate in Hong Kong urged local authorities to “allow time for serious legislative review”, to “align with international standards and defend fundamental rights and freedoms “.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee earlier said Friday that there was a “general consensus” among Hong Kongers that the law should be passed “as soon as possible.” Nearly 99% of the 13,000 people questioned as part of the public consultations expressed their support for the creation of this new law according to the Hong Kong authorities.
Journalists’ associations, human rights organizations, foreign companies and diplomats have for their part expressed their serious concerns, fearing that this text will further restrict freedom of expression. Nearly 300 people have been arrested and more than 170 charged since the first national security law imposed by Beijing took effect, which cracked down on all dissent.