The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), with its newly appointed national security adviser and three national security technical advisers is expected to hold its inaugural meeting shortly
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon, who is also the spokesman for the Executive Council, said the committee could meet now that the government has finished drafting amendments to its administrative regulations.
The director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao, Fu Ziying, will be the committee’s national security adviser, while the three national security technical advisers will be other officials from the Liaison Office.
The local government’s announcement came after Xinhua reported on 3 December that the central government had decided to set up the posts of a national security affairs adviser and three national security technical advisers on the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR.
The central government made the decision in a reply dated 30 November to the chief executive of the MSAR, concerning a report he filed proposing that the central government set up the new posts on the committee.
The national security affairs adviser will be tasked with supervising, guiding, coordinating, and supporting the MSAR in safeguarding national security.
The duties of the national security technical advisers include assisting the national security affairs adviser and advising on matters pertaining to the duties and functions of the office of the committee.
The national security affairs adviser will sit in on meetings of the committee, while the national security technical advisers will attend meetings of the office of the committee.
The Macao government set up its Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR in 2018, 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 is chaired by the chief executive, with the secretary for security as its vice-chairman. The office of the committee is headed by the secretary for security, with the director of the Judiciary Police as its vice-director.
Cheong said that with the central government’s support since the establishment of the MSAR in December 1999, the government has been improving its legal system on safeguarding national security, and carrying out various tasks concerning the safeguarding of national security in an effective way in line with the law.
Macao enacted its national security law – the Law on the Defence of National Security – back in 2009, based on the Article 23 requirement of the Macao Basic Law.
Cheong, who is also a member of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR, said that “with the increasingly complicated landscape on safeguarding national security”, there is a need for Macao to further improve its legal system on safeguarding national security and its mechanism on the respective law enforcements.
Cheong also said that he believed that the central government would “soon” formally appoint the national security affairs adviser and the three national security technical advisers to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR.
Cheong also reaffirmed that proposing amendments to the local national security law will be among the local government’s most important legislative tasks next year.
The local government said last month that it aimed for amendments to the local national security law to be enacted next year.
Amendments to laws must be passed by the Legislative Assembly (AL).
Liaison Office Director Fu Ziying is the highest-ranking central government official posted to Macao, The Macau Post Daily reported.
