Hong Kong leader attacks security law opponents as ‘enemy of the people’
蘋果日報 2020/06/17 09:31
Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday urged opposition lawmakers to stop “demonizing” an impending national security law for the city, while insisting that the bill had amassed “widespread support”.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam also did not directly respond to questions on whether the new national security law would override the Basic Law, the city’s mini constitution, as well as its obligations to an international human rights treaty.
Speaking to the press ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam reiterated that the anti-sedition law would bring stability to Hong Kong and help plug national security loopholes. She urged the opposing camp to stop “demonizing and stigmatizing” the law, as that would pit themselves against the people of Hong Kong.
She also said the new law had “widespread support”, citing results from a petition launched by a pro-Beijing coalition that had amassed 3 million signatures in 10 days.
Lam’s comments came after Deng Zhonghua, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said during a seminar held in Shenzhen that Beijing should have the right to directly handle cases when it comes to “rare, serious” cases, without specifying what cases would fall under such category.
Deng’s remarks deepened fears that Hong Kong freedoms will be further eroded, while critics have said that the law would be the final nail in the coffin ending Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status.
Lam however said it would not be appropriate for her to respond to Deng’s comments as details of the law have yet to be released.
When asked if the new law would override the Basic Law as well as the city’s obligations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — of which Hong Kong has been a signatory since 1979 — Lam would only say the new law would have to strike a balance between national security and human rights, but that too depended on the specific provisions.
Bar Association chair Philip Dykes, in an interview with Radio Television Hong Kong, called the proposed law a “reverse engineering” of the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would remove existing safeguards in the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China.
“Rather than you going to the mainland, the mainland comes to you,” Dykes said on Tuesday, adding that the proposed law sounded like a “weird hybrid” between common and mainland law.
Pan-democratic legislator Raymond Chan criticized Lam for “glorifying” the law, while opposition lawmaker Eddie Chu urged Lam to listen to the concerns of Hong Kongers directly and to “stop living in a parallel universe.”
Separately, Lam also rejected allegations that the government had violated labour laws by condemning civil servants from taking part in an unofficial referendum to green-light a general strike opposing the national security law.
A coalition of more than 20 labour unions is set to hold an unofficial referendum this Saturday on whether to launch a general strike and school boycott against the proposed law.
Lam said if the purpose of the strike was not related to duties of the workplace, civil service staff would not be covered by any constitutional protection, adding that there was “no such thing” as a legally-binding referendum.
Carol Ng, chair of the Confederation of Trade Unions, however rejected Lam’s claims, saying that the Basic Law guaranteed Hong Kongers’ rights to organize and participate in general strikes, and that there should not be any conditions attached to them.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam also did not directly respond to questions on whether the new national security law would override the Basic Law, the city’s mini constitution, as well as its obligations to an international human rights treaty.
Speaking to the press ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam reiterated that the anti-sedition law would bring stability to Hong Kong and help plug national security loopholes. She urged the opposing camp to stop “demonizing and stigmatizing” the law, as that would pit themselves against the people of Hong Kong.
She also said the new law had “widespread support”, citing results from a petition launched by a pro-Beijing coalition that had amassed 3 million signatures in 10 days.
Lam’s comments came after Deng Zhonghua, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said during a seminar held in Shenzhen that Beijing should have the right to directly handle cases when it comes to “rare, serious” cases, without specifying what cases would fall under such category.
Deng’s remarks deepened fears that Hong Kong freedoms will be further eroded, while critics have said that the law would be the final nail in the coffin ending Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status.
Lam however said it would not be appropriate for her to respond to Deng’s comments as details of the law have yet to be released.
When asked if the new law would override the Basic Law as well as the city’s obligations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — of which Hong Kong has been a signatory since 1979 — Lam would only say the new law would have to strike a balance between national security and human rights, but that too depended on the specific provisions.
Bar Association chair Philip Dykes, in an interview with Radio Television Hong Kong, called the proposed law a “reverse engineering” of the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would remove existing safeguards in the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China.
“Rather than you going to the mainland, the mainland comes to you,” Dykes said on Tuesday, adding that the proposed law sounded like a “weird hybrid” between common and mainland law.
Pan-democratic legislator Raymond Chan criticized Lam for “glorifying” the law, while opposition lawmaker Eddie Chu urged Lam to listen to the concerns of Hong Kongers directly and to “stop living in a parallel universe.”
Separately, Lam also rejected allegations that the government had violated labour laws by condemning civil servants from taking part in an unofficial referendum to green-light a general strike opposing the national security law.
A coalition of more than 20 labour unions is set to hold an unofficial referendum this Saturday on whether to launch a general strike and school boycott against the proposed law.
Lam said if the purpose of the strike was not related to duties of the workplace, civil service staff would not be covered by any constitutional protection, adding that there was “no such thing” as a legally-binding referendum.
Carol Ng, chair of the Confederation of Trade Unions, however rejected Lam’s claims, saying that the Basic Law guaranteed Hong Kongers’ rights to organize and participate in general strikes, and that there should not be any conditions attached to them.
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