Make local laws compatible with NSL, top Beijing official says

A top Beijing official overseeing Hong Kong affairs has told Hong Kong authorities to amend local laws to make them compatible with the national security law.  

Speaking at a high-level forum held in Beijing on the accurate implementation of the NSL, Xia Baolong, the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said the security law has an overriding effect on the local laws of the HKSAR.  

Xia said the biggest trait of the NSL is that it adopts a double-track implementation mechanism, through which the HKSAR holds the major responsibility for safeguarding national security stipulated under the NSL and under “one country, two systems.”  

Meanwhile, the central government, acting as a safety valve, will handle problems that are out of the hands of the SAR, said Xia.  

The top official also noted that when provisions of local laws in the SAR are inconsistent with the security law, the national security law should be applied first.  

“The SAR should take the initiative to amend and improve local legislation so that it is kept in organic unity with the national security law," said Xia.  

Separately, he said not only the chief executive and the city’s national security committee are responsible for safeguarding national security, its administrative organs - including the executive, legislature, judiciary, statutory bodies, and advisory bodies - are all obliged to assist with the committee’s work and respect its decisions, Xia said.  

He added that wide participation from Hong Kong society is also vital to the security law’s successful implementation.  

“Everyone will benefit from the law. We should actively participate in and promote its protection, instead of being bystanders in the process,” said Xia.