Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said on Monday there was a need to establish a unit specifically for the enforcement of Macau’s local national security law – the Law on the Defence of National Security.
Wong made the remarks while speaking to reporters after overseeing the swearing-in ceremony of newly-appointed Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau (DSFSM) Director Kok Fong Mei, at the S. Francisco Barracks.
Wong told reporters on Sunday the government would study the drafting of supplementary laws and regulations to ensure the more effective enforcement of the local national security law.
The local Law on the Defence of National Security was enacted in 2009 based on the Article 23 requirement of the Macau Basic Law.
Wong said on Sunday that the local national security law is merely a framework law on the protection of national security in Macau.
The existing Law on the Defence of National Security lists the seven crimes on endangering national security stated by Article 23 of the Macau Basic Law and their penalties.
The seven crimes, according to Article 23 of the Macau Basic Law, are treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the central government, theft of state secrets, political activities by foreign political organisations or bodies, and the establishment of ties by political organisations or bodies in Macau with foreign political organisations or bodies.
According to the Macau Post Daily, Wong noted the importance for the local government to safeguard national security, adding that the tasks to protect national security are a professional and complicated matter. He said that consequently there was a need for Macau to have supplementary laws and regulations and to establish a specific unit for the local national security law enforcement.
Wong noted on Sunday that the nation has an entity for the enforcement of its national security law – the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and an entity for decision-making on national security – the Central National Security Commission (CNSC) of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Wong said on Monday the government would also study whether there was a need for Macau to establish entities for the law enforcement and decision-making on national security respectively.
Wong said it was not suitable for the existing law enforcement entities to tackle cases related to national security as crimes endangering national security could be complicated. He said that therefore a specific entity was needed for the local national security law enforcement.
Wong said that the government had still to decide whether to establish an independent entity, or whether to set up a unit under one of the existing law enforcement entities, for the local national security law enforcement.
