Explaining the background to the proposals, Mr Lai said that Hong Kong now had legislation, both in the form of UK Acts of Parliament extended to Hong Kong and in local laws, that expressly covered the offences of treason and sedition, and which in effect covered the theft of official secrets.
These provisions in their present form were obviously not going to be applicable to acts of treason or sedition against the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, and would thus need to be localised or adapted as appropriate, he said.
Regarding the concepts of secession and subversion, also mentioned in Article 23 of the Basic Law, Mr Lai said that they were not expressly referred to in existing legislation.
"There is clearly a good deal of public interest both as reflected in the media and in the speeches of LegCo members today, in precisely what they mean.
"The relationship between these concepts and the offences covered in existing legislation is therefore one of the important subjects to be covered in consultations with the Chinese side," he said.
End
Protection of civil rights
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in the motion debate on protection of civil rights in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
The views expressed by many Honourable Members in this debate have clearly reflected the strong feelings in the community about the situation of Mr. WEI Jingsheng. The British Foreign Secretary Mr. Rifkind has made representations to the Chinese Government several times with senior Chinese Officials during his recent visit to Beijing.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.