Only 71 people convicted under national security law in three years, says Chris Tang

Only 71 people have been convicted since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, indicating that the law only affects a small number of people and authorities’ prosecution work is very serious, said Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung. 

At the launching ceremony of RTHK’s explainer program “NSL Chronicles II” on Thursday, Tang stressed the law targets crimes that obviously endanger national security. 

“The law articles clearly outline four types of crime, including secession, subverting state power, terrorist activities and colluding with other countries or foreign forces, targeting crimes that endanger the security of Hong Kong and China. 

“Ordinary citizens are most definitely not going to breach the law,” Tang said. 

He also recalled 250 people were arrested over the past three years, and 151 of them have been prosecuted by the end of March. For trials that ended already, all 71 defendants were found guilty, involving a very small number of citizens only. 

“The figures also reflect that authorities’ work on arrests and prosecution is very serious,” Tang also said. 

The ceremony also played some of the program’s highlights in advance, including one episode featuring Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok, in which he describes the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law as a piece of homework that is long overdue. 

Lam added the law can strike a balance between safeguarding national security and respecting human rights and freedoms. 

“For those who challenge the law, they really should clam down and read through the articles to understand the grounds of the verdict and relevant procedures. 

“They should then ask themselves by the heart if the law, including its implementation, does violate the rule of law principle treasured by every citizen and other human rights we care about,” said Lam. 

Director of Public Prosecution Maggie Yang Mei-kei said the prosecution work by the Department of Justice will never be affected by external factors, including the defendants’ background, political stand or occupation. 

“Accusations that DoJ’s prosecution serves some other purposes are completely untrue and lack factual support,” Yang said.