Article 23, Hong Kong’s Second National Security Law: Rushed Adoption, Unlimited Expansion of State Powers & Further Departure from International Human Rights Obligations
On March 19, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) unanimously voted to pass the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution (hereinafter “Article 23”). Article 23 will officially come into effect this Saturday, March 23, 2024. HRIC strongly opposes the passage of the Article 23 National Security Law, and through this statement highlights the rights-restricting nature of Article 23 in terms of both procedure and substance.
Compounding the equally controversial and draconian Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (typically referred to as the National Security Law, or NSL) in 2020, passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, Article 23 expands upon the NSL and introduces new offenses that grant almost unlimited state powers to Hong Kong and Central authorities: theft of state secrets and espionage; sabotage endangering national security; external interference; insurrection; and treason. Of these, the following are new offenses created by Article 23: sabotage endangering national security supposedly targets people who endanger national security either intentionally or by "being reckless," and criminalizes computer-related acts that allegedly harm national security, like doxing; and external interference refers to acts of collaborating with "external forces" to influence or interfere with national and local authorities, such as receiving financial support or direction from foreign governments, political organizations or individuals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, individual(s) and organization(s) found guilty of Article 23 offences will be subject to exceedingly harsh, lengthy, and disproportionate forms of punishment: the maximum sentence for espionage is 20 years in prison; and for treason, life imprisonment. Due process rights are almost non-existent: the detention period of a person arrested for national security offences without charges can be extended by police from the current 48 hours to a further 14 days subject to court approval. Most shocking is how residents are mandated to report anyone who has committed or about to commit treason “as soon as reasonably practicable” or face up to 14 years in prison, a vague and unrealistic requirement that encourages paranoia and will likely be used solely to expand the net of possible targets for the authorities.
Article 23 is the Central and Hong Kong authorities’ latest tool to deny and restrict the fundamental freedoms and human rights of its citizens within and beyond Hong Kong, including Hong Kongers, Chinese citizens, and foreign individuals and organizations both within the territory and overseas. Civic space will continue to shrink, and already self-censored human rights defenders, journalists, and pro-democracy activists will increasingly be in danger online and offline. Article 23 is undeniably a devastating addition to the authorities’ longstanding efforts to ramp up transnational repression.
There have been several attempts to pass Article 23 in previous decades. Notably, an attempt to pass the bill back in 2003 was shelved after massive protests. The lack of transparency, accelerated consideration, and rushed adoption of Article 23 all points to procedural irregularities attempting to bypass actual, meaningful public consultation and engagement with Hong Kongers. Further, the deliberate ambiguity of Article 23 would criminalize legitimate conduct protected under international human rights law, especially freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, and the right to receive and impart information.
HRIC calls on all stakeholders, including democratic governments, the international community, civil society, and the business community, to stand in solidarity and act together to compel the Hong Kong authorities to respect its international human rights obligations.
基本法第廿三条 - 香港的第二条国家安全法：急速采用，国家权力无限扩张，进一步偏离国际人权义务。
香港立法会（LegCo）在2024年3月19日一致通过了依据《基本法》第23条立法的《维护国家安全条例》，亦即是香港的基本法23条（以下简称“第23条”）。《第23条》将于2024年3月23日星期六正式生效，中国人权组织（“中国人权”）强烈反对《第23条》国家安全法的通过，并通过这份声明强调《第23条》在程序和实质上对人权的限制。
中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会常务委员会在2020年通过了同样备受争议和严苛的《中华人民共和国香港特别行政区维护国家安全法》（简称为《国安法》），《第23条》扩大了《国安法》的范围，并引入了新的罪行，几乎授予香港和中央政府无限的国家权力：窃取国家机密和间谍活动、危害国家安全的破坏活动、外部干涉、叛乱和叛国。其中，《第23条》新创的罪行包括：所谓危害国家安全的破坏活动罪旨在针对那些故意或者“不小心”危害国家安全的人，并且把声称涉及危害国家安全与使用电脑有关的行为刑事化，例如俗称「起底」的行为。外部干涉指的是与“外部势力”合作，试图影响或干预国家和地方政府的行为，比如接受外国政府、政治组织或个人的金钱支援或指示办事。
也许最不令人意外的是，违反《第23条》而被定罪的人及组织将受到极其严厉、漫长和不成比例的惩罚 - 间谍罪的最高刑罚为20年监禁，而叛国罪则是终身监禁。几乎不存在着正当法律程序的权利，因国安法被捕的疑犯，未经起诉由法院批准，可以由警方从当前的48小时拘留延长至额外的14天。最令人震惊的是，香港居民遇到任何即将犯叛国罪或者已经犯下叛国罪的人，必须“尽快”报案，否则将面临最高14年的监禁，这是一个模糊而不切实际的要求，鼓励人时刻怀疑周遭的人，相当之有可能是当局用来扩大可能目标的范围。
《第23条》是中央和香港政府用来剥夺和限制香港境内外的公民，包括香港人、中国公民以及境内外的外国人和组织的基本自由和人权的最新工具。公民空间将继续缩小，已经自我审查的人权捍卫者、记者和亲民主活动人士将在线下和线上面临日益危险的局面。毫无疑问《第23条》是当局长期努力加强跨国镇压的毁灭性举措。
在过去几十年中，曾有几次试图就《第23条》立法，但值得注意的是，2003年试图立法的努力在大规模抗议后被搁置。《第23条》的缺乏透明度、加速审读和匆忙通过，都表明了当局违反程序，故意绕过实际、有意义的公众咨询和与香港人认真讨论的行为。此外，故意把《第23条》的内容模糊了，将使受到国际人权法保护的合法行为变成罪行，尤其是言论自由、和平集会自由和接收和传播信息的权利。
中国人权呼吁所有相关利益者，包括民主政府、国际社会、民间社会和商界，团结一致，共同行动，迫使香港政府遵守应有的国际人权义务。
How effective is amnesty international at combating any of the ccp human rights abuses?