Hong Kong authorities propose public interest defence, tougher penalties for certain offences under Article 23 national security law

The paper highlighted four suggestions that authorities “would take into account and adopt in the bill if appropriate”, including tougher penalties for certain security offences when collusion with external forces is involved and the introduction of a public interest defence for offences related to “state secrets”.

Under “state secrets”, the government said it would consider adding clauses similar to the “safeguarding of information” under the current Official Secrets Ordinance. It would also consider the use of unmanned tools, such as drones, under the espionage offence.

Authorities also agreed to consider prescribing measures to address, deter and prevent absconding of those arrested, as well as to encourage absconders to return. It will consider tightening the threshold for jailed offenders to obtain early release as well.

Foreign chambers and professional groups have previously called for clearer definitions and narrower scopes in their published submissions, especially the criteria and conduct under state secret crimes and foreign interference.

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While the document provided a summary of the feedback, not all concerns were addressed by authorities.

The government for instance rejected the Hong Kong Bar Association’s suggestion to include incitement of violence as a requirement for all acts of seditious intention, saying that incitement to hatred of authorities might snowball over time to trigger large-scale riots, and the legislation “must be able to prohibit related behaviours”.

According to authorities, 98.6 per cent of the 13,489 submissions it received during the consultation exercise were in support of the proposal.