'Enforcing New Law Not A Job For Ordinary Police'

The deputy director of the Basic Law Committee, Maria Tam, said on Saturday that enforcing Hong Kong's new national security law will not be a job for your average local police officer, and an effective mechanism will be needed to ensure the law is properly implemented.

In a pre-recorded speech that was broadcast at a webinar, Tam said it is not the duty of ordinary police officers to protect national security.

She said that in order to get to the level of competence required for this, officers would need to undergo more professional training, and develop a better network and international vision, among other things.

Therefore, it is inevitable that other arrangements will need to be established to ensure the national security law is effectively implemented, she said.

While the police have said they have set up a special unit to handle any alleged national security offences, it's believed mainland agents will also be able to base themselves in the SAR under the new legislation Beijing is preparing.

In her speech, Tam also said that Hong Kong is standing at a crossroads, and this is because One Country, Two Systems has not been strengthened with national security.

She said this has allowed external forces and people in Hong Kong to plunge the SAR into a state of turmoil, affecting economic and educational development.

"The most important aspect of One Country, Two Systems is one country; if one country can't be protected, then two systems also can't be protected," she said.

Tam also said that Beijing has always firmly supported Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong in turn needs to firmly support the maintenance of national security in order to give back to the country.

According to the Basic Law, the committee Tam sits on should be consulted in the law-making process for the new legislation.