Secretary for Security Chan Tsz King said yesterday that the local government will draft a bill regulating the operation of the Macau Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) Committee for Safeguarding National Security, the organisational structure and operation of which are currently governed by an administrative regulation (bylaw).
Chan made the remarks during yesterday’s one-day Q&A session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle about his portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year.
Chan took office as the government’s secretary for Security on October 16, succeeding Wong Sio Chak who became the government’s secretary for Administration and Justice on that day. Yesterday’s plenary session of the legislature was the first one that Chan addressed in his capacity as the government’s secretary for Security.
Government-drafted bills must be passed by the legislature to become law, while government-drafted administrative regulations, aka by-laws, do not require the legislature’s approval.
The MSAR government set up its Committee for Safeguarding National Security in 2018 through an administrative regulation, which is tasked with various duties and functions concerning the safeguarding of the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests, such as formulating local policies on the safeguarding of national security and promoting work on improving the local legal system on safeguarding national security.
The Committee for Safeguarding National Security is chaired by the MSAR’s chief executive, with the secretary for security as its vice-chairman.
The committee has an office tasked with providing administrative support to the committee. The office is headed by the secretary for security.
Since its establishment in 2018, the committee’s administrative regulation was amended in 2021 adding the posts of a national security affairs adviser and three national security technical advisers appointed by the central government to the committee.
The national security affairs adviser, according to the administrative regulation’s current version, is tasked with supervising, guiding, coordinating, and supporting the MSAR in safeguarding national security, while the three national security technical advisers are tasked with assisting the national security affairs adviser and advising on matters pertaining to the duties and functions of the office of the committee.
The post of the national security affairs adviser is taken by the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR, while the posts of the three national security technical advisers are taken by other officials from the Liaison Office.
Moreover, since the Chief Executive Election Law and the Legislative Assembly Election Law were amended last year, the MSAR’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security has also been tasked with assessing whether chief executive election candidates uphold the MSAR Basic Law and bear allegiance to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the MSAR, as well as assessing whether legislative election candidates uphold the MSAR Basic Law and bear allegiance to the MSAR.
However, these new duties are currently not formally listed in the current administrative regulation governing the committee’s operation.
During yesterday’s Q&A session, Chan said that the local government will prepare the drafting of a new bill regulating the organisational structure and operation of the MSAR’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security.
Chan said that the new legislation aims to formally define the functions and powers of the committee while improving its organisational structure and management.
Chan underlined that after the new law takes effect in the future, the committee’s statutory powers will be strengthened.
Chan said that the new functions and powers to be listed in the new bill will enable the local government to strengthen its education campaigns for safeguarding national security.
Chan also said that the future new law will enable the local government to roll out measures and policies aiming to consolidate the achievements in the organisation of its annual National Security Education Exhibition and other related activities and events.
Macau’s National Security Education Exhibition, aiming to mark the country’s National Security Education Day, has been jointly held by the MSAR government and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR annually since 2018.
The annual one-month exhibition starts on April 15, which marks the country’s annual National Security Education Day, which started in 2016.
Meanwhile, Chan also said that the Public Security Police (PSP) are preparing to set up a police station in one of the new subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) estates in the Zone A new urban area where residents started to move into earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Chan said that the sixth phase of the police forces’ citywide CCTV surveillance system is expected to come into operation in 2027, consisting of the installation of 680 cameras. In addition, 120 cameras will be installed in Zone A, also expected to be completed in 2027.
Secretary for Security Chan Tsz King addresses yesterday’s Q&A session about his portfolio’s 2026 policy guidelines in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo: GCS
