The Macau national security law (, ; pt, Lei relativa à defesa da segurança do Estado, ) is a law in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

which prohibits and punishes acts of "treason, secession, and subversion" against the

Central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

, as well as "preparatory acts" leading to any of the three acts. Taken into effect on 3 March 2009, the purpose of the law is to fulfil Article 23 of the

Macau Basic Law The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( zh, 中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區基本法, pt, Lei Básica da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China) is ...

, the ''de facto''

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of the Macau Special Administration Region. Macau National Security Law has been in force for eleven years, and the National Security Law has not been used.

History

According to the Secretary for Administration and Justice

Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan (陳麗敏) (1954–) the first Secretary for Administration and Justice in Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city ...

, drafting began in 2004, taking into account examples from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Until 1999, Macau was a colony of Portugal. The draft was released on 22 October 2008. It proposed to ban treason, attempts to overthrow the

Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...

and theft of national secrets. Some of the proposed offenses carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail.

Response to drafting of the law

Edmund Ho Edmund Ho Hau-wah, GOIH, GML, GCM (born 13 March 1955) is a Macau politician who served as the first Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region from 1999 to 2009. He currently serves as a Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People ...

Chief Executive of Macau The Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (; pt, Chefe do Executivo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau) is the head of government of Macau, a special administrative region of China. The position replaced the o ...

, said in a press conference that the bill targets "serious criminal behavior" and will not limit protests or criticism of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He further said "Chanting a few slogans, writing a few articles criticizing the central government or the Macau government, these activities won't be regulated by this proposed law." Macau Legislator Au Kam-san said "We don't want to see any

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

style national security law. It would be acceptable to enact a law based on the

Johannesburg Principles Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

. Political commentator Larry So Man-yum said the legislation would do well in Macau given residents' patriotism and their lack of awareness about

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. "There will be absolutely no problem. Compared to

Hongkonger Hongkongers (), also known as Hong Kongers, Hong Kongese, Hongkongese, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people, typically refers to residents of the territory of Hong Kong; although may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the ...

s, Macau people have high levels of acceptance for the central government. No "Broomhead" will emerge in Macau." In 2003, Secretary for Security

Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...

was nicknamed "Broomhead" for attempting to sell Article 23 in Hong Kong. The

Hong Kong government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

on 22 October responded with having no plan to embark on the legislation, adding its most pressing commitments are economic and livelihood issues.

References

Bibliography

* . Includes English translation of most of the draft law. {{refend

External links

Macau Special Administrative Region National Security Law (Chinese and English Text)
– Chinese version and unofficial English translation by Amnesty International hosted on the website of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of the United States.
第 2/2009 號法律《維護國家安全法》/Lei n.º 2/2009 – Lei relativa à defesa da segurança do Estado
– Official Chinese and Portuguese texts of the law published on pages 519–525 of Official Gazette No. 9/2009 of 2 March 2009 *
HTML of the Chinese version
hosted on the website of the Government Printing Bureau *
HTML of the Portuguese version
!--(As under Macau law both Chinese and Portuguese are equally valid)--> hosted on the website of the Government Printing Bureau Basic Law of Macau Politics of Macau 2008 in Macau

History

Response to drafting of the law

See also

References

Bibliography

External links