Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said people don’t have to worry about falling foul of the SAR’s sedition laws so long as their criticism is aimed at suggesting improvement to the authorities.
The justice chief told the RTHK programme NSL Chronicles III that there are clear stipulations about how certain acts and comments do not constitute sedition in the home-grown national security law under Article 23 of the Basic Law.
“For example, when we have different opinions or criticisms about government policies, the law is clear in this regard,” Lam said.
“If you’re expressing views with the intent of wishing the government to do better, or making so-called criticism with good intentions, the law states in black and white that these do not amount to [the crime of] seditious intention.”
Lam said according to the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, it is also legal to suggest improvement to the legal or political system as well as the constitutional order, so long as there’s no intent to incite hatred or contempt.
On the other hand, Lam explained how people may violate seditious laws under Article 23 even if they don’t intend to incite violence.
He noted there had been instances where some comments “could harm the public’s views towards the government”, causing hatred or enmity, even if they don’t specifically ask people to take up arms to confront the SAR government.
