Auditor taking closer look at NSL implementation

The Audit Commission is enhancing its scrutiny of the implementation of the national security law by various government departments due to concerns that some departments are not taking the law seriously, according to Director of Audit Nelson Lam Chi-yuen.

This decision follows the publication of the latest Audit Report, which dedicated two out of its eight chapters to recommendations aimed at safeguarding national security. One suggestion was for the Chinese University of Hong Kong to strengthen its national security management for external operators of campus facilities as part of a value for money audit.

In an interview with a Chinese newspaper, Lam said he observed that government departments and public organizations either failed to prioritize the National Security Law or did not fully comply with the government's requirements.

"These departments and organizations are at risk of violating the law," Lam said.

Lam added that safeguarding national security is a collective responsibility and the Audit Commission plays its part by assessing whether appropriate measures have been taken.

Lam faced questions regarding the connection between national security and the value for money audit, which traditionally focuses on examining an audited body's economic, efficient and effective use of resources.

"Efficiency and effectiveness refers to whether the audited body abided by the law or not. If they have failed to do so that means they are doing a poor job. If they have broken the law, that would also involve money," Lam said.

He added that if the commission's examination finds that departments and organizations are doing a great job in safeguarding national security, they might not continue "checking for compliance" while they audit other government bodies.

Lam originally sidestepped questions on whether the government watchdog will again check for compliance within the government after the enactment of Basic Law Article 23, but later said the commission will examine all new legislation and policies.

But not everything has to be audited at once as Lam said the government watchdog will be auditing the government's large-scale projects, just not in the short-term.

"These events have just been rolled out, some of them are still in the funding process. Therefore we have not included them in our audit planning for the next five years," Lam said. "For example the municipal waste charge to be implemented in August, we cannot audit it in August next year, we need to give them more time. The society needs time to get used to new policies, not giving it a few years time is quite unfair," he added.

Lam also said the Audit Commission is not trying to pick on the government's mistake, but trying to step up the government's accountability and service quality.