Delegation of local pro-establishment group visiting capital says Basic Law Committee chairman urges enacting bill, citing separatist advocacy
Beijing on Tuesday renewed its call for Hong Kong to enact controversial national security legislation, a day after local officials took the unprecedented step of banning a party advocating independence from China.
Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Basic Law Committee – a body that advises the Chinese government on Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – was quoted as making the appeal during a two-hour meeting with the pro-establishment Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executives Association in the capital on Tuesday.
Association president Thomas Lee Kang-bor quoted Shen as saying Hong Kong officials needed to enact national security legislation, especially in light of pro-independence advocacy in the city.
Under Article 23, the city must enact its own law to prohibit acts such as “treason, secession, sedition and subversion” against the central government.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity quoted Shen as saying at the meeting that local officials needed to do more to protect national security.
