In a paper to the Legislative Council, the Department of Justice and the Security Bureau said certain premises used by the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) – which oversees national security efforts in the SAR – should be declared as “prohibited places” as soon as possible.
Officials said this would accord “appropriate protection” to the OSNS against unauthorised entry “in order to minimise national security risks, in particular risks associated with acts of espionage.”
Private residences would not be affected, the paper said, nor will the declaration “cause any unreasonable impact on the surrounding community.”
New subsidiary legislation to the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance would also make it an offence to resist or obstruct the OSNS in performing their duties, lying to its officers, impersonating them or forging office documents.
The government proposes that those found in breach would face up to seven years in prison and a maximum fine of HK$500,000.
Officials also noted that under the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law, the OSNS may exercise jurisdiction over national security cases if local authorities aren’t able to effectively enforce the law, if there’s a major and imminent threat to national security, or if the case is complicated due to the involvement of a foreign country or external elements.
In such cases, any government department or civil servant would be required to provide the office with “all necessary and reasonable assistance, facilitation, support, backing and protection in accordance with the law and in a timely manner,” the paper said.
The administration also proposes prohibiting anyone who knows or suspects that the national security office is handling a case “from disclosing to any other person any information relating to that investigation without reasonable excuse or lawful authority”.
However, authorities stressed that the OSNS would only seek to exercise control over “a very small number of cases that are of a serious and egregious nature and involve a significant impact.”
The paper also said “the subsidiary legislation will not confer any new powers on the OSNS, nor will it affect the lives of the general public and the normal operation of any institution and organisation.”
The government said the declaration of the office’s premises as prohibited places would be made “as soon as possible”, while the subsidiary legislation would be published in the gazette and be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting at the earliest possible time.
