Hongkongers must obey orders on photography at 6 ‘prohibited places’: officials

Hongkongers can take photos of six premises belonging to Beijing’s national security office deemed “prohibited places” but disobeying law enforcement officers’ orders to stop will risk running afoul of the newly gazetted subsidiary legislation, senior officials have said.

In another move to fast track scrutiny of the newly enacted subsidiary legislation to the city’s domestic national security law, lawmakers completed the clause-by-clause vetting in just over five hours in three back-to-back meetings in a bills committee set up on Thursday.

“The bills committee was satisfied with our answers and did not raise any amendments,” Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said. “This reflected positive interaction between the executive and legislative institutions.”

The subsidiary legislation to the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance was enacted on Tuesday, a day after the government unveiled the proposal to support Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in the city and also designate its premises as “prohibited places”.

It was enacted via “negative vetting”, a process that allows for legislation to come into force on the date of gazettal before authorities receive the green light from lawmakers.

During the meetings on Thursday, lawmakers demanded officials explain how residents could avoid violating the law at the six premises newly designated as “prohibited places”, given the city’s density and the proximity of such locations to open public spaces and schools.