Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. With 7.4 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world.
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 articles and three annexes, the Basic Law was composed to implement Annex I of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Article 23 is an article of the Hong Kong Basic Law. It states that Hong Kong "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes, including all public and private law matters.
The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statutes enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and case law made by decisions of the courts of Hong Kong.
The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) is a government agency responsible for the protection of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region against smuggling; the protection and collection of revenue on dutiable goods on behalf of the Hong Kong Government; the detection and deterrence of drug trafficking and abuse of controlled drugs; the protection of intellectual property rights; the protection of consumer interests; and the protection and facilitation of legitimate trade and upholding Hong Kong's trading integrity.
Human rights protection is enshrined in the Basic Law and its Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383). By virtue of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and Basic Law Article 39, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is put into effect in Hong Kong. Any local legislation that is inconsistent with the Basic Law can be set aside by the courts. This does not apply to national legislation that applies to Hong Kong, such as the National Security Law, even if it is inconsistent with the Bills of Rights Ordinance, ICCPR, or the Basic Law.
Although Hong Kong law provides freedom of speech and press, and freedom of expression is protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, the Hong Kong national security law gives the government the power to "take down any electronic messages published" that the government considers endangering national security. The government has blocked several anti-government, doxxing or politically sensitive websites after the commencement of the law, leading to increased concerns of Internet censorship.
The Macau national security law is a law in Macau which prohibits and punishes acts of "treason, secession, and subversion" against the Central government, as well as "preparatory acts" leading to any of the three acts. Taken into effect on 3 March 2009, the purpose of the law is to fulfil Article 23 of the Macau Basic Law, the de facto constitution of the Macau Special Administration Region. Macau National Security Law has been in force for eleven years. Pro-Beijing state-owned Hong Kong Newspaper Wen Wei Po claimed that Macau's National Security Law "has not been used".
The Second Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2000 election. The term of the session was from 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2004, during the latter half of the first term of the Tung Chee-hwa's administration and the most of the Tung's second term in office. The pro-democratic Democratic Party remained the largest party with 13 seats. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included Wong Sing-chi, Michael Mak, Li Fung-ying, Lo Wing-lok, Abraham Shek, Tommy Cheung and Audrey Eu who won the seat vacated by Gary Cheng in the 2000 Hong Kong Island by-election.
The Crimes Ordinance, last amended in 1972, is a law of Hong Kong relating to certain consolidated penal enactments. Like Macau, penal and criminal law in Hong Kong is different from what is applied in China.
National Security Bill was a proposed bill which aimed to amend the Crimes Ordinance, the Official Secrets Ordinance, and the Societies Ordinance, pursuant to the obligation imposed by Article 23 of the Basic Law, and to provide for related, incidental and consequential amendments. The proposed bill was introduced on 14 February 2003. It caused considerable controversy in Hong Kong and a massive demonstration on 1 July. On 6 July, James Tien resigned from the Executive Council. On 5 September 2003, Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa announced that the bill had been officially withdrawn.
The Societies Ordinance is a piece of primary legislation in Hong Kong. It was enacted in 1911 and has undergone major revisions. The Ordinance regulates incorporated and unincorporated associations of persons and requires registrations. In other words, it prohibits informal or secret societies and poses limits to freedom of association. It also prohibits triad societies and modern successor gangs.
Events in the year 2020 in Hong Kong.
The Decision of the National People's Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Safeguard National Security is a congressional resolution passed by the third session of the 13th National People's Congress on 28 May 2020. This resolution authorizes the National People's Congress Standing Committee to promulgate a national security law in Hong Kong.
The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a national law of China on Hong Kong national security passed in 2020. It is implemented in Hong Kong in accordance with Hong Kong Basic Law Article 18, which allows for Chinese laws to be valid in Hong Kong if they are included in Annex III. It was formulated under the authorization of the National People's Congress decision on Hong Kong national security legislation. The law was passed on 30 June 2020 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress as a means of resolving the anti-extradition bill protests instigated by a Hong Kong local bill proposed in 2019 to enable extradition to other territories including the mainland, and came into force the same day.
The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OSNS) is the Chinese central government's national security office in Hong Kong. The office was established in July 2020 by the Hong Kong national security law.
The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a national security committee established by the Government of Hong Kong under the Article 12 of the Hong Kong national security law. The committee is supervised and accountable to the Central People's Government of China.
The National Security Department is the Hong Kong Police Force national security law enforcement agency established by the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020.
The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance is a local law of Hong Kong. It was introduced by the Government of Hong Kong on 8 March 2024, passed by the Legislative Council on 19 March 2024, and took effect on 23 March 2024. The ordinance is enacted to implement Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law.
