With the enactment of Hong Kong’s national security law on June 30, 2020, acts of collusion with foreign countries to endanger national security, secession, subversion and terrorist activity were criminalised. As discussed at a recent forum to mark the law’s fifth anniversary, the “one country, two systems” policy has operated smoothly since.
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The national security law has been applied throughout with great restraint by the authorities, with prosecutions only resulting when absolutely necessary.
Between July 1, 2020 and May 1, 2025, 185 people and five companies were prosecuted for offences in connection with endangering national security, including under the national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance passed last year and the now-repealed sedition offence under the Crimes Ordinance. About 170 people and one company have finished court proceedings, with most defendants convicted. These figures give the lie to foreign claims that thousands have been indicted.
Moreover, the conviction rate of over 95 per cent in national security trials shows great care is being taken in investigating these cases and prosecuting them. As elsewhere in the common law world, the courts can only convict defendants if satisfied of their guilt beyond reasonable doubt; the conviction rate illustrates the strength of the cases they have tried.
As the national security law contains new procedures, there were concerns over how these could be integrated into the legal system. However, the courts have sensibly interpreted the national security law in ways that are equitable and realistic.
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At an early stage, they made clear they had no power to hold any part of the national security law unconstitutional or invalid because of any alleged incompatibility with either Hong Kong’s Basic Law or the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance. As this is a national law, the courts lacked the jurisdiction to impugn its provisions, which was incontrovertible.