Earlier, a Hong Kong woman upon her return to the city was arrested for having allegedly committed an act or acts with seditious intent during her stay in Japan. The case, which is the first of its kind in applying the extraterritoriality of the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL) to subversive activities abroad, reminds us of the fact that the net of justice lets no criminals through, and that anyone suspected of endangering national security, whether in Hong Kong or abroad, will eventually be brought to justice.
The NSL has shown its worth over the past three years in deterring and sanctioning political agitators in the city. Shortly before the NSL was promulgated, many high-profile agitators announced their “retreat”. And when the NSL finally came into effect, subversives like Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Ted Hui Chi-fung fled Hong Kong one after another. Bigots such as media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who remained defiant and continued with their unlawful activities, were arrested for various offenses. The arrest of the above-mentioned woman suggests more overseas offenders are likely to be brought to justice in future.
Since the implementation of the NSL, a total of 252 individuals have been arrested for national security offenses, among whom 155 have been prosecuted, with 79 of them either having been convicted or awaiting sentencing.
As evidenced by the numbers of prosecutions and convictions, the NSL only targets a minority group of lawbreakers. These numbers have not only invalidated the allegation by the mainstream Western media that “everyone in Hong Kong is at risk”, setting the record straight, but also reaffirmed the spirit of rule of law that no one is above the law. Lai is a case in point. Being a powerful player in the media sector, which is dubbed “the fourth estate”, does not spare him from any legal consequences for allegedly colluding with external forces to endanger national security.
Those who believe that only people who break the law in Hong Kong will be held accountable are gravely mistaken, as Article 37 of the NSL stipulates that the law “shall apply to a person who is a permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or an incorporated or unincorporated body such as a company or an organization which is set up in the Region if the person or the body commits an offence under this Law outside the Region”.
The woman was arrested for allegedly publishing seditious content on her social media account from Sept 7, 2018, to March 8 this year, including posts and photos that advocated separatism and incited hatred against the central and HKSAR governments. Since she is a permanent resident of Hong Kong and suspected of violating the NSL abroad, her arrest was in full compliance with Article 37 of the NSL.
Although the NSL has only been in place for three years, it has exhibited exceptional worth widely appreciated by many. The weak links in the implementation of the NSL have become increasingly apparent and they can be addressed only by fully and accurately understanding the NSL. Stability and prosperity will ensue if national security is ensured. Hence the effective implementation of the NSL is the key to ensuring Hong Kong’s well-being
The NSL, moreover, also applies to offenses committed against the HKSAR from outside the region by a person who is not a permanent resident of Hong Kong (Article 38), meaning nonlocals who violated the NSL are not spared from the law.
Before any overseas entities conclude that they are beyond the reach of the NSL, they’d better be aware of the following facts:
First, the extraterritorial application of the NSL is in line with the “protective jurisdiction” principle in international law, which allows a sovereign state to exercise prescriptive criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed wholly outside its territory by people who are not its nationals and who endangered its national security or other core interests.
Second, being a member of Interpol, China can request the organization to put the national security fugitives on its “wanted persons” list that is valid in approximately 200 member states around the world.
Third, violators of the NSL will be held accountable for life. The United States, United Kingdom and their allies merely use those agitators as pawns in their attempts to subdue China; they will be discarded when they no longer serve that function.
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, has repeatedly emphasized the need to understand the original and legislative intent of the NSL to ensure its full and accurate implementation.
That essentially requires the general public to recognize the four types of offenses and the associated penalties under the NSL, and to understand the scope of application of the NSL. The NSL is a logically rigorous law that combines elements of substantive law, procedural law and organizational law; the clarity of the procedures for enforcing the law necessitates thorough understanding of its content.
It must be noted that the NSL should not be enforced under common law thinking. The NSL takes precedence over Hong Kong’s local laws. Article 14 stipulates that no institution, organization or individual in the HKSAR shall interfere with the work of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR; information relating to the work of the committee shall not be subject to disclosure; decisions made by the committee shall not be amenable to judicial review. The committee should properly exercise these prerogatives without subjecting itself to the constraints of Hong Kong local laws and procedures when handling problems related to the NSL.
There is still inadequate or inaccurate understanding of the NSL among Hong Kong’s judiciary and legal profession, notably the failure to recognize the precedence of the NSL over local laws, and the indecisiveness displayed in handling specific national security cases.
Although the NSL has only been in place for three years, it has exhibited exceptional worth widely appreciated by many. The weak links in the implementation of the NSL have become increasingly apparent and they can be addressed only by fully and accurately understanding the NSL. Stability and prosperity will ensue if national security is ensured. Hence the effective implementation of the NSL is the key to ensuring Hong Kong’s well-being.
The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.