HKSAR Gov't Proposes to Give Police More Power on National Security

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 22, 2002

HKSAR Gov't Proposes to Give Police More Power on National Security

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is proposing to increase power of the Hong Kong Police Force to investigate the more serious offenses that threaten national security.

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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is proposing to increase power of the Hong Kong Police Force to investigate the more serious offenses that threaten national security.

Secretary for Security Regina Ip said at the HKSAR Legislative Council Monday that the police here should be given more power to conduct emergency entry and searches for the more serious offenses outlined in Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong.

She stressed that certain cases called for such investigation powers to be exercised, as the police's application to the court for search warrants in advance may lead to slower police action, which in turn, may lead to evidence to be destroyed or the criminal offense to be committed.

"Under such circumstances, even one or two hours of waiting, on the part of the police, for the issuance of the search warrant maybe too long," Ip said.

Such powers are deemed necessary by the HKSAR government to prohibit the more serious acts of "treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's government, or theft of state secrets," which are crimes outlined in Article 23.

The laws now being drafted by the HKSAR government will not only prohibit foreign political organizations from conducting political activities in general here, but also prohibit local political organizations or bodies in Hong Kong from establishing ties with such foreign political organizations or bodies in strict accordance with the article.

The HK security chief cited numerous examples in a paper issued by her bureau to illustrate that the proposed bestowing of such powers upon the police is only a normal procedure and is widely used in other jurisdictions.

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