James Tien says most do not desire security law

The honorary chairman of the Liberal Party, James Tien, said today that most people in Hong Kong don't want the national security law Beijing is to impose on the SAR, but he hopes they'll come to accept it once the details are known, RTHK reports.

A day after Chief Executive Carrie Lam said there is widespread support in Hong Kong for Beijing's move, Tien said he believes most people are not happy with it, but there's nothing much the SAR can do being as the central government is the one doing the legislative work.

The pro-establishment politician also said Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng's recent comment that it's not reasonable to expect the legislation to follow common law principles, and a Beijing official saying the mainland will have jurisdiction over some cases, will do nothing to put people's minds at rest.

"That certainly would not [ease public concerns]. But on the other hand, let’s look at the exact drafting of the law," he told RTHK's France Sit.

"The devil's in the detail. So we would like to see at the end of next month or this month what the actual wording is," he added.

"During this period we did put in some of our views that we hope Beijing will accept; things like the national security law should be drafted in common law, it should not be retrospective, and all the actions taken either by police or by the justice department and then by the courts should all be taking place in Hong Kong, and if convicted the person should be put in prison in Hong Kong," he said.

"So I think that would give some confidence to the Hong Kong people in a situation that we do not want to see, but something that we can accept."