Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung speaks at a press conference on the 2023 Policy Address at the Central Government Office on Oct 27, 2023. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung on Friday said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is working flat out to draft proposed local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law and will make every effort to explain the legislation to the public.

Hong Kong is expected to complete that legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law within the next year, to enhance the city’s ability to safeguard national security. Article 23 stipulates that the HKSAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit acts and activities that endanger national security.

At a news conference on Friday, the secretary for security placed a heavy emphasis on the need to fully explain the legislative action to the public to prevent any distortions. 

The SAR government will use diverse consultation methods to ensure that all residents can express their opinions, Tang said, noting the risk of misunderstandings and distortions caused by insufficient explanations.  

Tang stressed that the legislation, which will also take reference from similar legislation in places such as the United Kingdom, will only affect those who pose a danger to social stability and national security.

Tang said that concerns about the legislation’s impact on the economy are not necessary as there will be no social stability and economic development if national security is compromised. Many places in the world have such legislation to ensure national security, he said. Tang asked what happened to economic development in 2019 when social unrest erupted and rioters were throwing petrol bombs. 

Apart from enhancing school education on national security, the city’s latest Policy Address unveiled a slew of measures to enhance national security and patriotic education, including the establishment of an exhibition gallery, preparing teaching materials and providing training for district-based tutors to promote national security education in the community. 

(From left) Secretary for Education Dr Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung and Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak meet the media over the 2023 Policy Address at the Central Government Offices on Oct 27, 2023. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

The SAR government aims to train at least 2,600 national security instructors from 2025 and eventually to benefit 78,000 residents with each instructor training another 30 people. 

At the same occasion, Choi Yuk-lin, secretary for education, said that national education will not be a separate subject at schools, saying that it has always been promoted through a multipronged and coordinated approach. The latest Policy Address proposed to add more Chinese history, culture, and geography knowledge to the curriculum.

Choi said that the government will set up a task force to formulate the curriculum framework, and opinions from the education sector and frontline teachers will also be sought. The first draft is expected to be finished before the end of 2023 and will be finalized in 2024, she said, adding that a pilot plan will be launched.

Regarding the development of young people, Mak Mei-kuen, the secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, said that a Youth Development Summit will be held in mid-2024, which aims to attract more than 1,000 participants, as the highlight of the next Youth Festival.