The government on Friday gazetted its bill on homegrown national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic law which would outlaw treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets, espionage, sabotage and external interference.

The full 212-page draft of the bill was published nine days after the conclusion of a month-long public consultation exercise on the legislative proposals.

The bill was presented to the Legislative Council on Friday morning for scrutiny.

The document lays out the penalties for a variety of offences, proposing life imprisonment for people convicted of treason, insurrection, sabotage by colluding with external forces to damage public infrastructure, or inciting members of Chinese armed forces to mutiny.

Under the bill, people who publicly manifest their intention to commit treason can be jailed for 14 years, which is also the penalty proposed for those who fail to inform the authorities if they have knowledge of such a plot.

Those who work with external intelligence agencies to endanger national security can also be jailed for 14 years, while unlawfully disclosing state secrets is punishable by a 10-year prison term.

In the bill, state secrets are defined as covering a range of areas, including major policy decisions relating to Hong Kong or the nation; defence, diplomatic and foreign affairs; as well as national security, economic, social, and technological developments.

The draft includes a provision for a public interest defence for divulging state secrets – but only if the disclosure is necessary to reveal a serious threat to public order, safety or health; or when the government’s ability to lawfully discharge its functions become “seriously affected.”

The defence would also only be valid if “the public interest served by making the disclosure manifestly outweighs the public interest served by not making the disclosure.”

External interference, meanwhile, is defined as someone who uses improper means to work with external forces to commit acts intended to interfere with the functions of the SAR or central governments, the Legislative Council, local courts and elections, or which would affect the relationship between Hong Kong and other parts of the nation.

Potential offenders could be deemed as having used ‘improper means’ under the proposal if they had knowingly lied in the commission of the unlawful act; or if the act involves the threat or use of violence, property damage, or had caused mental injury, reputational damage or financial loss to another person.

The draft bill also proposes that the police can apply to the courts to extend the detention period for people suspected of endangering national security. Following the initial 48-hour period, the court can twice extend it by seven days each -- such that the maximum detention period would reach 16 days.

And senior police officers would be empowered to apply for a court warrant to bar suspects from consulting ‘particular lawyers’ if such interactions are deemed to endanger national security, or would cause bodily harm to someone, hamper authorities from recovering proceeds from the unlawful act, or pervert the course of justice.

The bill also states that, as one of the principles of the national security law under Article 23, that "the highest principle of the One Country, Two Systems policy is to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests."

The bill also says human rights are to be respected and protected, including the rights to free speech, freedom of the press and publication, freedom of association and assembly as enjoyed under the Basic Law and international covenants to which apply to the SAR.
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Last updated: 2024-03-08 HKT 11:43