The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday unanimously passed a local government-initiated bill amending the national security law of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
According to the amended version of the local national security law, secession or subversion by any illegal means, i.e., including non-violent illegal means, will also be punishable, a change from the current version which only punishes the two crimes by violent or other grave illegal means.
The amended version will extend subversion targeting the Central People’s Government, which is listed in the current version, as subversion against the political power ruling the nation.
The amendment bill also adds the new criminal offence of instigating or supporting sedition to the local national security law.
The amendment bill’s outline was passed during a plenary session of the legislature in December last year. The legislature’s 1st Standing Committee held several meetings to review the bill.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak attended yesterday’s plenary session when the amendment bill was voted on article-by-article in its second and final reading.
The amendment bill will take effect on the day after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO).
The amendment bill is expected to be gazetted next week at the earliest.
Macau enacted its national security law – the Law on Safeguarding National Security – back in 2009, based on the Article 23 requirement of the Macau Basic Law.
Macau’s national security law, Law 2/2009, had previously not been amended since its enactment in early 2009, because of which the bill that was passed by the local legislature yesterday is the first one amending the Law on Safeguarding National Security, which took effect on March 3, 2009.
The local government has underlined that the new version of the local national security law will be upgraded to the status of a fundamental and core law of Macau’s legal system on the protection of national security, a change from the current version which is merely a penal law that punishes offences endangering national security.
The crime of secession listed in the local national security law’s current version covers those who use violence or other grave illegal means in an attempt to separate Chinese territory from the nation or subject it to the sovereignty of another state.
The amended version will punish the crime of secession carried out by any illegal means. In addition, the new version of the crime will also cover those who attempt to change the legal status of the MSAR or any other areas of the nation, in addition to the current scope.
The crime of subversion against the Central People’s Government listed in the local national security law’s current version covers those who use violence or other grave illegal means in an attempt to overthrow the Central People’s Government, or to prevent or hinder it from exercising its functions.
The amended local national security law will extend the coverage of subversion to the political power ruling the nation. The amended version of the law will punish subversion carried out by any illegal means.
The crime of subversion against the political power ruling the nation listed in the new version will cover those who attempt to overthrow or destroy the nation’s fundamental system established by the Constitution, to overthrow or destroy any organs of the central authorities, to prevent any organs of the central authorities from exercising their functions, or to create disruption to any organs of the central authorities exercising their functions.
The local national security law’s new version will widen the definition of the crime of sedition.
The crime of sedition listed in the local national security law’s current version covers those who publicly and directly incite others to commit treason, secession, or subversion against the Central People’s Government. The current version of the crime also covers those who publicly and directly incite members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Macau Garrison to abandon their duties or to rebel.
In addition to the current scope, the amended version of the crime of sedition will also punish those who publicly and directly incite others to participate in riots aiming to endanger or undermine national security.
The amendment bill also changes the name of the crime of “theft of state secrets” listed in the current version of Law 2/2009 to “violation of state secrets”.
Meanwhile, the local government issued a statement last night to express its gratitude to all lawmakers for supporting its work on amending the city’s national security law.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo courtesy of TDM
