A Legislative Council bills committee continued its hours-long meetings on Saturday afternoon to scrutinise the national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law, focusing on topics such as seditious intent and state secrets.

Regarding offences involving seditious intent, Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker Jeffrey Lam asked if people who questioned government policies or strongly criticised the government's performance would be violating the law.

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said that the government would not obstruct anyone from expressing disagreement with or opposition to government policies if they have the right motives.

"However, if it's not that case, and you're purely trying to incite hatred and hoping that people will go and destroy the government and the country, then that's of course another matter," he said.

Lawmaker Peter Koon asked if there’s a retroactive period for prosecution over owning old publications that might contain seditious content. He specifically cited people who have kept old newspapers published by the now-defunct Apple Daily.

Security Secretary Chris Tang clarified that while it's illegal to possess such publications, if the materials have been kept at home for a long time and the owner has forgotten about them and has no intention to incite others, that could be deemed as a “reasonable excuse.”

During discussions on offences involving state secrets, lawmaker Chan Siu-hung asked whether there will be guidelines for government contractors, particularly those in IT fields to know what information can be disclosed and what would be restricted.

Tang said government contractors often have confidentiality clauses within their contracts, and such clauses theoretically already impose effective regulation.

He reiterated that exemptions for disclosing state secrets will be subject to a very strict standard, saying such disclosures would only be allowed in extreme situations where the functioning of the government is severely compromised, or if there's a serious threat to public order, health, or safety.

The bills committee meetings will resume on Sunday.