Hong Kong hits back at Australia, Taiwan over travel warnings about city’s new domestic national security law
- Hong Kong leader John Lee signs Safeguarding National Security Ordinance into law
- Canberra tells Australians in an updated travel advisory that the city has ‘strict laws’ on national security that can be ‘interpreted broadly’
Hong Kong has strongly condemned Australia and Taiwan for “spreading scaremongering remarks and fear” after they both revised travel advisories for the city warning people over the new domestic national security law.
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu on Friday signed into law the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which would take effect upon gazettal at midnight, and said the city had “accomplished a historic mission” and “lived up to the trust” of Beijing.
In a statement released hours earlier, the Hong Kong government sought to reassure ordinary tourists that they would not fall foul of the new law as long as they “do not engage in behaviours and activities endangering national security”.
Addressing Australia’s warning to its nationals that they could unintentionally break the law, a government spokesman said: “We strongly condemn the dissemination of false, distorted facts, and the political manipulation through spreading scaremongering remarks and fear.
“We must emphasise that Hong Kong’s law enforcement agencies take actions based on evidence, strictly in accordance with the law and illegal actions of relevant persons. There is no arbitrary arrest as alleged.”
Canberra told Australian nationals that Hong Kong had “strict laws” on national security – including the one Beijing imposed in 2020 – that could be “interpreted broadly”, urging them to exercise “a high degree of caution” while visiting the city.
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“You could break the law without intending to. You may be at increased risk of detention. The maximum penalty under these laws in Hong Kong is life imprisonment,” the advisory said.
Australia also reminded its nationals of new powers granted to police under the domestic security law, including detaining arrestees without charge for up to 16 days – from the current 48 hours – and denying them access to a lawyer.
The Australian government added it could not intervene in the Hong Kong judicial process and warned citizens that denial of entry to the city was also possible.
Hong Kong is home to one of the largest Australian communities abroad, with around 100,000 living in the city, according to Canberra’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Hong Kong government spokesman said an extension of detention would only occur under strict conditions specified in the ordinance, and noted that Singapore could detain a suspect for two years without laying charges.
On the limitations on consulting certain lawyers, the spokesman said the United States, Britain and Canada had similar restrictions. Hong Kong’s ones would not impede a defendant’s right to a fair trial thanks to other protections offered by the law, he said.
He also pointed to the extraterritorial effect of the ordinance and the Beijing-imposed national security law, saying it was in full compliance with principles of international laws and conventions. A similar practice could be seen in laws of the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and the European Union.
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Australia, alongside countries such as the United States, Britain and Canada, had said they were concerned about the law’s implications for human rights and its impact on the city’s high degree of autonomy.
The spokesman said “ungrounded” comments by these countries were attempts to mislead the public.
“Their unfounded criticism, made with complete disregard of the ordinance’s provisions, fully exposes their malicious intent to cause trouble for Hong Kong’s stability,” he said.
He called such conduct a “blatant display of double standards” and urged these countries to cease interfering in Hong Kong affairs.
The government, meanwhile, released a video on Friday night showing Lee signing the ordinance mandated under Article 23 of the city’s mini-constitution into law. The clip included footage of several major protests in the city in 2014, 2016 and 2019, with Lee saying “national security threats are real and they exist continuously” in a voice-over.
Lee said in a statement that the security law would bring safety and stability, which would “make Hong Kong an attractive place for enterprises and investments”.
“The government will continue to lead Hong Kong in fully focusing on economic development, improving people’s livelihoods, and maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of the city, with a view to creating a brighter and more abundant future together,” he said.
The ordinance, which was passed unanimously in the Legislative Council on Tuesday after 12 days of marathon proceedings, complements the national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020 in the wake of months-long anti-government protests.
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On Thursday, Taiwanese National Security Bureau director general Tsai Ming-yen warned island residents to “be extra cautious” when entering Hong Kong.
“[They] need to be aware if they have criticised China’s political and economic situation in the past, and whether they have mobile messages criticising China.”
The self-ruled island’s foreign ministry spokesman, Jeff Li, said Taiwan would “learn from Hong Kong’s lesson” by allying with “like-minded democratic partners to firmly safeguard the universal values of a civilised society”.
The new legislation targets five major activities: treason; insurrection, incitement to mutiny and disaffection, and acts with seditious intent; sabotage; external interference; and theft of state secrets and espionage.
Four of the 39 offences in the ordinance are punishable by up to life imprisonment, with some applicable to offenders based outside Hong Kong.
