Releasing the consultation document on proposals to implement Article 23 at a press conference, Ip said Article 23 is about the protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and national security.

"Every nation has laws to protect such fundamental interests of the country and Hong Kong, being an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), definitely has a duty to enact laws on its own to protect national security," she said.

"The Central People's Government has authorized the SAR government to 'enact laws on its own' to implement Article 23," Ip stressed.

"This means that mainland laws on national security will not be extended to Hong Kong. The HKSAR is given an opportunity to formulate legislative proposals on its own, having regarded to the requirements of the Basic Law, its assessment of the national security requirement and similar legislative provisions in jurisdictions around the world. The precise legislation to be enacted will ultimately be determined by the HKSAR's legislature," she said.

She said the offenses listed under Article 23 come under the genre of "offenses against the state." Such offenses are highly serious in nature because of the threat they pose to the fundamental well-being of the state.

For this reason, almost all jurisdictions have laws and provisions criminalizing such offenses, even though they occur infrequently, Ip explained.

"In drawing up proposals to implement Article 23, the Administration decided to make use of provisions in existing law as far as possible, and to ensure that all of its proposals are consistent with the international human rights covenants applicable to Hong Kong," she said.

"The existing rights, freedoms and lifestyle of Hong Kong people are unlikely to be affected by the implementation of the proposals," she said.

( September 25, 2002)