China to handle some Hong Kong national security cases

China will have jurisdiction over "some extremely rare" national security cases in Hong Kong, a senior official said yesterday as Beijing prepares to unveil its new anti-subversion law for the semi-autonomous business hub. Deng Zhonghua, deputy head of China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said enforcing the national security law would largely fall to Hong Kong's local authorities and police. "However, the central authorities should also reserve jurisdiction over some extremely rare cases when an offence takes place in Hong Kong and poses a serious threat to China's national security," Deng said. Under a "One Country, Two Systems" agreement ahead of the handover by Britain, China said it would let Hong Kong maintain certain liberties and autonomy until 2047, including legislative and judicial independence. But Deng's comments are the first time a Beijing official has made clear that mainland authorities will have jurisdiction over some national security cases once the law is passed.

Source: AFP