Hong Kong Government Approves Legislation for National Security Office's Mandate and Prohibited Areas.

Making of subsidiary legislation under Safeguarding National Security Ordinance

The Acting Chief Executive in Council today (May 13) approved the making of the Safeguarding National Security (Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Regulation (the Regulation) under section 110 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) and the making of the Safeguarding National Security (Declaration of Prohibited Places) Order (the Order) by the Acting Chief Executive under section 42 of the SNSO, to provide for specific details in respect of the provisions in Chapter V of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKNSL) concerning the mandate of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OSNS), in order to fulfil the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)'s constitutional duty to further improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security. Both pieces of subsidiary legislation were gazetted on the same day and came into effect immediately.

National security is within the purview of the Central Authorities. Article 48 of the HKNSL provides that the Central People's Government (CPG) shall establish in the HKSAR the OSNS, which shall perform its mandate for safeguarding national security in accordance with the law. Chapter V of the HKNSL provides for the mandate of the OSNS, including overseeing, guiding, co-ordinating with, and providing support to the HKSAR in the performance of its duties for safeguarding national security. Also, the OSNS shall, upon approval by the CPG, exercise jurisdiction over a case concerning an offence endangering national security under the HKNSL in a circumstance specified in Article 55 of the HKNSL. According to Article 61 of the HKNSL, the relevant departments of the HKSAR Government shall provide necessary facilitation and support to the OSNS in performing its mandate in accordance with the HKNSL, and shall stop any act obstructing the performance of such mandate and hold those who commit such act liable in accordance with the law. The HKSAR Government must perform its constitutional duty to enact local legislation for the better carrying into effect of the relevant provisions of the HKNSL.

The four major areas of the subsidiary legislation are:

First, Article 49 of the HKNSL provides that the mandate of the OSNS includes overseeing and guiding the HKSAR in the performance of its duties for safeguarding national security, demonstrating the overarching responsibility of the Central Authorities for national security affairs relating to the HKSAR. The subsidiary legislation clearly outlines the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (CSNS) making an overall plan for, and co-ordinating, the implementation of the opinions provided by the OSNS on the OSNS's oversight and guidance, and the CSNS Secretariat's assistance in giving effect thereto, for the better carrying into effect of the relevant provisions of the HKNSL.

Second, Article 55 of the HKNSL provides that the OSNS shall, upon approval by the CPG, exercise jurisdiction over a case concerning the four types of offences endangering national security under the HKNSL (namely secession, subversion, terrorist activities and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security), under any of the three specified special circumstances, i.e. (1) the case is complex due to the involvement of a foreign country or external elements, thus making it difficult for the HKSAR to exercise jurisdiction over the case; (2) a serious situation occurs where the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) is unable to effectively enforce the HKNSL; or (3) a major imminent threat to national security has occurred. Those circumstances target a very small number of endangering national security cases that are of a serious and egregious nature and involve a significant impact. For this purpose, the subsidiary legislation provides for the implementation details, including requirements on public servants to provide all necessary and reasonable assistance to the OSNS in a timely manner; any person must comply with legal instrument issued by the OSNS under Article 57 of the HKNSL; and the provision of immunity from civil liability for complying with the OSNS's legal instrument. Furthermore, the subsidiary legislation provides for relevant offences, including offences for failing to comply with legal instrument, providing false or misleading information, and disclosing information on the OSNS's investigation. The relevant offences are based on similar offences that already exist and are common in the legislation of Hong Kong.

Third, the subsidiary legislation provides for specific details in respect of the provisions of the HKNSL regarding protection in respect of the OSNS and its staff in the performance of its mandate, including requirements on the HKSAR Government and any public servant to provide, in accordance with the law and in a timely manner, all necessary and reasonable assistance, facilitation, support, backing and protection; admissibility of an identification document or a document of certification created or issued by the OSNS to be in evidence in legal proceedings; making the acts of wilfully resisting or obstructing the OSNS in the performance of a duty, impersonating a staff member of the OSNS, or forging documents of the OSNS, an offence; and the obligation of any person to keep confidential the work-related information in connection with the OSNS.

Fourth, the premises where the OSNS performs its mandate are declared as prohibited places. The subsidiary legislation clearly sets out the detailed addresses of the prohibited places and the clear coordinates of the points that can be linked to clearly define the entire prohibited area. The relevant prohibited places are all premises solely occupied by the OSNS to perform its mandate and do not involve private residences. The declaration will not cause any unreasonable impact on the surrounding community.

An HKSAR Government spokesperson said, "Against the increasingly turbulent global geopolitical landscape, national security risks to which the HKSAR is exposed can arise all of a sudden. Therefore, the HKSAR Government must perform its constitutional duty to continue to improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security and to formulate comprehensive measures for safeguarding national security, including the making of subsidiary legislation for the provisions of the HKNSL concerning the OSNS's mandate in order to better implement the mechanisms for safeguarding national security, and prevent and tackle in a timely manner national security risks that may arise unexpectedly.

"The two pieces of subsidiary legislation are essential from the perspective of protection in respect of the OSNS's effective performance of its mandate under the requirements of the HKNSL. The subsidiary legislation will go through the negative vetting procedure at the Legislative Council. The HKSAR Government will make every effort for the early completion of the scrutiny with a view to effectively safeguarding national security as soon as possible - the earlier the better.

"The subsidiary legislation made under the SNSO only aims to provide for specific details in respect of the provisions of the HKNSL concerning the mandate of the OSNS at the local law level. The subsidiary legislation will not affect the lives of the general public, nor will the normal operation of any institution and organisation be affected. The places designated as prohibited places do not involve private residences and will not cause any unreasonable impact on the surrounding community."

Speech by CS at Nobel Heroes Forum: Shaping Science and Future

Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Nobel Heroes Forum: Shaping Science and Future today (January 12):

Dr Wong (Chairman of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Council, Dr Peter Wong), Professor Zhang (President and Vice-Chancellor of the HKU, Professor Zhang Xiang), Mr Turner (Executive Director of Foundation Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Mr Nikolaus Turner), distinguished Nobel Laureates, esteemed scientists,ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is my great pleasure to join you today for the Nobel Heroes Forum: Shaping Science and Future.

To our Nobel Laureates – we are truly privileged to have you with us. You represent the very best of human curiosity and perseverance. Your ground-breaking work expands our understanding of the universe, lights the path for future discovery, and inspires generations. Thank you for joining this extraordinary gathering.

And to all our distinguished guests from around the world – a very warm welcome to Hong Kong.

Today's dialogue is more than an academic event. It is a powerful convergence of the world's finest scientific minds, right here in a city that is determined to play its part in global innovation.

Hong Kong's mission is clear and unwavering: to become a premier international innovation and technology centre. A hub where top scientists, scholars and entrepreneurs can thrive, collaborate and serve the world.

To achieve this, the Government is fully committed. We are building a world-class ecosystem and nurturing the talent to power it.

First, we are building the infrastructure for greatness.

We have established a strategic I&T framework centred on three major I&T (innovation and technology) parks and five key research and development institutions.

Building on the success of the Science Park and Cyberport, we officially launched the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone last month.

The Hetao Co-operation Zone is a major co-operation platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. The Hong Kong Park is envisioned as a world-class hub for technological innovation, connecting the Chinese Mainland with the international community, and serving as an important source for fostering new quality productive forces.

Together with our five key R&D (research and development) institutions focus on frontier technologies, these developments will create more favourable conditions for Hong Kong to attract global I&T resources and talent.

Second, we are investing decisively.

We back our words with resources. We have launched significant funding schemes across the entire innovation chain.

To support excellent and impactful research, the Research Grants Council (RGC) under the University Grants Committee administers more than 20 competitive research grant and fellowship schemes.

Furthermore, last year we launched the 3 billion HK dollars Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme to empower ground-breaking basic research led by world-class researchers and academics.

To accelerate the midstream and downstream development, we rolled out three separate 10 billion HK dollars initiatives to drive the commercialisation of R&D outcomes and new industrialisation.

Third, and most crucially, we are nurturing and attracting top talent.

Talent is our ultimate driving force. We are expanding our talent pool through multiple strategies.

On nurturing young research talent, the Government has launched the Young Collaborative Research Grant to support early-stage researchers in leading and managing collaborative research. We are also actively fostering research collaboration between Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas research funding agencies through operating various Joint Research Schemes. These partnerships not only foster academic exchange but also provide opportunities to nurture researchers in exploring new frontiers in their respective fields.

On attracting global talent, the RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme has supported some 300 doctoral graduates from Hong Kong and around the world to pursue research careers at our universities.

Our international research flagship, the InnoHK research clusters, is also there to bring together brilliant minds from all over the world to conduct world-class scientific research. To date, our two existing InnoHK research clusters – one focusing on healthcare technology and another on AI and robotics – have successfully built links with over 30 world-class universities and research institutes from 12 economies, pooling together around 3 000 researchers locally and across the globe.

To go further, the Government is now expediting the development of the third InnoHK research cluster, with the focus on sustainable development, energy, advanced manufacturing and materials.

Our strategy follows a powerful cycle: promoting technology with talent, leading industries with technology, and attracting talent with industries.

And we are seeing results. Hong Kong ranks third globally in "Technology" in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranks first in the 2025 Global Innovation Index Ranking of the World's Top 100 innovation clusters.

Our startup community has grown nearly fivefold in the past decade, producing homegrown unicorns.

This progress is no accident. It is built on Hong Kong's unique strengths. Under "one country, two systems", we enjoy unwavering national support and unparalleled global connectivity. Our robust rule of law, free-flowing capital and vibrant multicultural society make Hong Kong the perfect incubator for scientific exploration and technological breakthroughs.

To every scientist, researcher and innovator here today: Hong Kong is open for you. We provide the platform, the funding, the freedom and the connections to turn visionary ideas into reality.

We invite you to build your legacy here. To join us in shaping not just the future of Hong Kong, but the future of science for humanity.

On this note, let the dialogue begin. I look forward to the fruitful and inspirational exchanges. Thank you.

Source: AI-found images