Tam Yiu-chung To Moot New Law Be Made Retroactive

Tam Yiu-chung said on Saturday that he will tell fellow members of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) that there are calls in Hong Kong for the city's impending national security legislation to be made retroactive.

Speaking to reporters before heading to the capital for an NPCSC meeting on the law, Tam said since the enactment of the legislation is inevitable, there’s no point discussing some people's opposition to it.

Instead, he said he plans to reflect other views on the legislation, including calls for it to be retroactive, and for the penalties to be “heavy enough”.

He added that he will also relay the News Executives' Association's concern that the law may infringe on press freedom.

The pro-Beijing heavyweight also hit back at criticism that imposing the controversial law in Hong Kong would breach the Sino-British Joint Declaration, saying the treaty is “even more backward” than the Basic Law as it makes no mention of universal suffrage in the territory.

He stressed what matters most is the fact that the national security legislation is in line with the city’s mini-constitution.

Meanwhile, a local deputy to the National People’s Congress, Ip Kwok-him, called on the US to stop interfering or commenting on the upcoming bill.

He likened the law's enactment to a flat owner who’s trying to install a lock on his front door to stop burglars, adding that the move has nothing to do with Washington.