#BREAKING A few changes - including some alarming ones - in the latest print of #NSL Reader Beijing gifted all HK teachers and schools to read. The book’s leading author is Wang Zhenmin, ex legal affairs chief of the Liaison Office.
1. Most alarming one - in the section about cases in HK’s jurisdiction, 1st print said other regulations in HK’s existing laws concerning national security “of course shall be followed” but the line is gone in 2nd print ...
(L: 1st print; R: 2nd print)
...instead 2nd print listed 3 ordinances in HK laws deemed “concerning national security offences” including the Crimes Ordinance, the Official Secrets Ordinance and the Societies Ordinance, and said if they contradict with #NSL, #NSL shall prevail.
(L: 1st print; R: 2nd print)
2. Second most alarming change - in the section about legal procedures should a case falls in mainland’s jurisdiction, 1st print included a par about regulations on officials-in-charge and law enforcers’ misconducts - it’s now gone.
(L: 1st print; R: 2nd print)
3. New judgement added - in the section about bail application in #NSL case, the new print included HK Court of Final Appeal’s ruling on #JimmyLai and emphasised that the no-bail-except article in #NSL does not violate presumption of innocence.
(L: 1st print; R: 2nd print)
4. Last but not least - the line in 1st print acknowledging that China’s #NSL passed in 2015 is not included in Annex III of Basic Law (meaning it can’t be enforced directly in HK) is removed in the 2nd print.
In terms of length of gov backdrop slogan, HK is surely developing.
#FINALLY#CarrieLam said Election Committee election will be held in September, LegCo election in December and Chief Executive election next March.
Lam's gov is set to table bills for local legislation for the election overhaul in mid-April and have them passed by end of May.
#JUSTIN All members of the Candidates Qualification Review Committee will be "principal officials of the SAR government", #CarrieLam said, as they must be "balanced, impartial and not afraid of sanctions".
The committee will take over the tasks of returning officers.
National security police and National Security Committee of HK gov will provide reports on candidates for the Qualification Review Committee to vet candidates of legislature, election committee and chief executive elections, said Tam Yiu-chung, HK's sole delegate to NPCSC.
Beijing will leave it to HK gov to design the Candidates Qualification Review Committee - the master candidacy gate keeper and patriotism tester of all major elections in the city - Tam Yiu-chung told @AFP .
(graphic by me)
Among the new 90 seats in LegCo:
40 will be chosen by the 1500-member Election Committee with no min vote requirement;
30 from functional constituencies among which only 9 sectors have individual votes;
20 from 10 geo constituencies with 2 seats/district and 1 voter/voter.
#BREAKING Tong Ying Kit, first man in HK charged under #NSL, will launch judicial review against DOJ’s decision to not to grant jury to his formal trial, his defense counsel told High Court.
The decision was first revealed by @AFP last month.
Lau Chi-pang, a history professor of Ling Nan University who has been appointed by gov to lead a committee to rename the subject of liberal studies, will be the prosecution’s expert to explain the slogan #光復香港時代革命 in Tong Ying Kit’s case.
Tong Ying-Kit’s counsel Lawrence Lok SC sought to postpone the formal trial currently set in June and July with 3 reasons :
- Neither his or any other bilingual counsel’s diary fits
- Tong will JR no jury decision
- Defense was only told ystd about prosecution’s expert
This is a #thread about what happened in HK today.
1) 47 of the 55 pro-dem activists arrested on 6 Jan for joining their camp's primaries for LegCo election are prosecuted for "conspiracy to subversion" in their advanced reporting trip to police stations.
2) This is the largest group prosecuted for "subversion" not only since #NSL came in force in HK est 30 June 2020 but also since the offence of subversion was included in China's criminal law in 1997.
3) The blow is wide and heavy - not only those who signed a joint declaration of their intention to use every power a lawmaker has to push for democratisation in HK have been implicated. Among the 6 organisers, only John Clancey is not prosecuted.
CUHK effectively grounded the newly elected student union cabinet for their remarks that “concern national security” and involve “unfounded accusations against the university”, by suspending union fee collection and demanding the SU to register as a social group or company.
Syzygia, the elected SU cabinet of #CUHK, will respond to the university’s statement at midnight.
Oriental Daily reported that the amendments of Public Offices Bill will require district councillors to take oath of loyalty and those who are found to have betrayed their oath will be DQed and barred from election for 5years.