Second reading of Article 23 to resume at extra meeting

The second reading of the Basic Law Article 23 legislation is set to resume today after the legislature agreed to convene an extra meeting to speed up the process.

Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said in a notice to lawmakers that the government asked him in a letter last Friday to put the Safeguarding National Security Bill on the agenda as soon as possible.

In the letter, the government asked the bill be exempted from the 12-day notice usually required for a second reading.

"I fully support that completing the legislative work even one day earlier means we can more effectively safeguard national security one day earlier," Leung said.

"Based on the necessity and urgency of the bill as well as the integrity of the vetting process, I decided to call an additional Legislative Council meeting at 9am [today] in accordance with the Rules of Procedures."

The meeting will deal with only the rest of the legislative proceedings and not any other business, Leung said.

Today's Executive Council meeting has been canceled to allow Exco members who are also lawmakers to attend the Legco meeting, the government said.

Speaking at a forum yesterday, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said he looked forward to completing the Article 23 legislation, saying this would allow various sectors to stay united amid efforts to develop the economy and improve citizens' livelihood.

"Enacting Basic Law Article 23 is a constitutional responsibility. In the past, Hong Kong did not realize that national security could be at serious risk, and did not prioritize the legislation," Chan said.

"After the anti-fugitive bill saga, the country implemented the National Security Law and the SAR now enacts Basic Law Article 23 to fully safeguard national security."

Social welfare sector lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said the vetting process seemed to be in a rush but was not negligent.

"I have raised questions on issues that I'm concerned about, including whether the bill will affect the social welfare sector cooperating with international organizations. The government has clarified it will not," Tik said.

Tik said calling an extra meeting today to focus on Article 23 would allow the Legco to deal with other bills originally scheduled for discussion tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a Hong Kong Research Association survey of 1,034 adults between March 5 and March 12 found that 72 percent of the respondents agreed the SAR has the constitutional responsibility to safeguard national security and 67 percent said the legislation will not erode their rights.

About 55 percent said they were satisfied with the government's information campaign allaying public concerns.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com