With Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong on the table, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee began its 3-day session today. The highly contentious legislation is expected to be passed on Tuesday and take effect immediately on 1 Jul.

Ip Kwok-him, one of the local delegates to the NPC, told i-Cable News today that the deliberation of the proposed national security legislation was at the top of the meeting agenda. The NPCSC had unanimously supported the law, after having discussed the law in six small groups.

The latest draft has listed four offences and their respective penalty, the maximum being life imprisonment.

The four categories of criminal acts include secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security. The draft also makes stipulations on three conditions, under which the central government will hold jurisdiction over select cases.

Details of the draft will not be revealed before the passage of the law, despite repeated appeals from legal heavyweights that urged Beijing to release the full draft for public consultation as soon as possible.

Ip quoted Shen Chunyao, director of the NPCSC’s Legislative Affairs Commission, who said that the authorities have collected feedback from various channels and made two amendments to the draft, but the details could not be revealed at this moment.

Another local delegate Stanley Ng said he has read through the draft, but likewise refused to disclose the details. Whether the legislation would be passed in this session remained unknown, but committee members saw eye to eye during the small-group discussion, he added.

The legislation will take effect immediately on July 1, if the government gazettes it on or before July 1, Brave Chan from the pro-Beijing DAB party told HK01. Many main culprits have changed their stances or fled the territory since the central government announced the law, which proved its effectiveness in quelling the chaos in Hong Kong, he added.

Beijing’s mouthpiece Wen Wei Po reported that passing the law on Tuesday would be possible, citing multiple sources.

Besides stipulating the penalty, the law also aims to prevent and curb criminal acts, local delegate and head of the city’s pro-Beijing teacher union Wong Kwan-yu told Commercial Radio. Civil servants, for instance, will be required to pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong government and China and forbidden from participating in subversive activities. Wong also defended the absolute power the NPC holds, claiming it can change the principle of “one country, two systems” to their liking.

According to the Legislative Law, a bill should go through three deliberations, but it can be reduced to two if legislators give largely consistent views. Draft provisions of the controversial law were released by state-run Xinhua News Agency following its first deliberation, but full details remain undisclosed.

This is the second meeting within one month by China’s top legislature, which usually meets once in two months.

There was tighter security outside the Great Hall of the People, where the specially convened session began today. Traffic control points were set up at multiple intersections, with security agents barring people and vehicles from entering the area.

Click here for Chinese version.

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