Our secretary for security is the youthful 56-year-old Chris Tang Ping-keung. The position is a high office created during the colonial era in 1973.
Before the assumption of his present position in June, Tang was a highly regarded commissioner of police.
Needless to say, both positions involve huge responsibilities in the fields of public safety and security.
His long experience in the police force must make him ideally qualified to ensure that the national security law is implemented correctly and fairly.
How the new law is going to deal with the extensive abuse of crowdfunding, for example, is a crucially important issue for the future of Hong Kong.
Crowdfunding, as is well known, was one of the myriad stratagems used to sustain the violent demonstrations that paralyzed the city for many years.
Now, it is crucially important that our new secretary for security has made the point that the people responsible for the crowdfunding and who, as a result, furthered the commitment of criminal offenses (many of them very serious) cannot evade the consequences of their actions.
The fact that the organizations behind the crowdfunding have been dissolved or disbanded does not absolve the organizers of responsibility and blame.
When he referred to this subject, Tang was of course referring to the defunct Civil Human Rights Front and the Professional Teachers Union.
The CHRF was a virulent anti-Beijing and anti-police organization with a notorious reputation.
It claimed to have raised many millions from crowdfunding, with the money subsequently used to provide the financial oxygen for so many illegal demonstrations.
Affiliated members of CHRF included both the Civic and Democratic parties.
Despite the fact that it lasted for nearly 10 years, the front never registered its existence with the government, as by law it should have done.
It also refused to provide its sources of funds to the police.
Other crowdfunding organizations have also ignored the law and treated the anti-money laundering regulations with utter contempt.
Surely, it is right that the secretary for security has reminded everyone that no such organizations which break the law can expect to go unpunished.
That other now-defunct body, the Professional Teachers' Union, was categorized by mainland state media as a poisonous tumor that must be eradicated.
The strong language represented a dire warning to all professional bodies.
The 95,000-strong PTU represented the vast majority of the city's teachers.
The union's original aims were salutary and it provided comprehensive welfare benefits, including medical and dental clinics to its members.
Among its many noble aspirations was to lobby for better working conditions.
But sadly, the PTU allowed itself to become a political vehicle for many of its leaders.
The politicization of the union eventually caused its ruin after 48 years of service.
The security chief has also said the PTU cannot escape investigation of its possible breaches of the national security law.
What those breaches might be remains to be seen. All will be revealed in due course.
The bottom line in this torrid tale is that if the national security law is to command the respect it deserves in the community, all serious breaches of the law have to be investigated and those responsible brought to justice.Tang deserves society's gratitude and admiration.
Cheng Huan is an author and a senior counsel who practices in Hong Kong
