By confirming the power of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s chief executive to decide whether an act involves national security or whether the relevant evidence involves State secrets when such questions arise in the adjudication of a national security case in the SAR, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s first interpretation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong has plugged an obvious loophole that could compromise the law itself and endanger national security by allowing overseas law practitioners to participate in national security trials in the SAR.
The NPCSC interpretation of the NSL for better safeguarding national security in the SAR is an integral part of the central government’s overall jurisdiction over the SAR as prescribed by the Constitution (Art. 65) and the Basic Law (Art.158)
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The loophole, the subject of a recent dispute between the executive branch and the judiciary of the SAR, is real given the fact that unlike with local legal practitioners, there is no effective mechanism to prevent or stop overseas legal counsels from leaking potential State secrets involved in national security cases once they leave the city. Such a risk will grow as some foreign countries’ hostility toward China rises along with geopolitics.
Moreover, the legislative interpretation will be of great help in coping with other loopholes or new situations that could emerge in the process of the NSL’s implementation in future by affirming the overriding powers of both the chief executive and the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (CSNS) in safeguarding national security in the SAR. In a nutshell, the interpretation has greatly improved the enforcement mechanism of the NSL, laying the ground for its accurate and effective implementation.
But most importantly, the NPCSC’s first interpretation of the NSL has cemented the constitutional order under which the SAR is governed, as prescribed by the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law of the SAR. This has been effected by the NPCSC upholding the supremacy of the CSNS, which is under the supervision of and accountable to the central government — on all matters regarding safeguarding national security in the SAR.
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The NPCSC interpretation of the NSL for better safeguarding national security in the SAR is an integral part of the central government’s overall jurisdiction over the SAR as prescribed by the Constitution (Art. 65) and the Basic Law (Art.158). It is also a manifestation of China’s sovereignty over the SAR, which is beyond reproach.