The Public Law and Human Rights Forum (CPLR) and the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law (RCCL) at the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, together with the “One Country Two Systems” Law Institute at the Renmin University of China, has successfully convened a large scale academic conference on the theoretical and practical perspectives of the National Security Law of Hong Kong (“NSL”, or “National Security Law”) on 11 September 2020.

On Friday, 26 legal academics and industry practitioners around the world gathered on Zoom to present their findings and views on a range of topics surrounding the National Security Law in six discussion panels, which were individually moderated by lead academics in the respective field and attended by over 100 participants online. Our conference began with the discussion of the NSL’s implications on the “One Country Two Systems” policy and the politics and governance of Hong Kong, and moved into the application of National Laws and its relationship with the Basic Law in the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (“HKSAR”). In the afternoon, speakers in our third panel focused on the discussion of the NSL in the context of International Law while our fourth panel brought forth perspectives on the connections between NSL and Hong Kong’s Criminal and Criminal Procedure Law. Our fifth panel inspected views on the national security mechanisms under the implementation of the NSL, while our sixth panel examined the breadth and prevalence of human rights protection under the NSL in the HKSAR jurisdiction.

Our speakers examined the impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong’s political and legal system and reflected upon the connection between cultural identity and acceptable legal norms behind the political clashes that surrounded the city of Hong Kong not long ago. Similarly, speakers also pointed out the issue of coordination behind the synchronization of the Basic Law, the National Laws and respective courts under the One Country Two Systems policy during the first and second panel. Other notable academic viewpoints presented at our conference include difficulties that the Hong Kong Criminal Law system faces against the accommodation of the national security law and the comparative resemblance between socialist legal elements and Hong Kong’s National Security Law, which were vibrant and thought-provoking. The possible impact on the rule of law and existing human rights protection mechanisms against the implementation and framework of the NSL was examined with much interest. Case studies, such as the case of Tong Ying Kit in the HKSAR were also pointed out as a point of inquiry. As such, major questions were raised and identified as a result of our speaker’s contributions and debates.

The conference opening speech was presented by Dean Tan Cheng Han, School of Law at City University of Hong Kong; Professor Han Dayuan, Professor at Renmin University of China Law School and Committee Member for the Basic Law of the HKSAR under the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; and Professor Zhu Guobin, Professor and Director of the Public Law and Human Rights Forum at the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong. Lead academics who presented their views and findings on Friday in no particular order includes Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee, Committee Member for the Basic Law of the HKSAR under the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong; Professor Fu Hualing, Dean and Professor of Human Rights and Responsibilities at Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong; Professor Sonny S.H. Lo, Deputy Director (Arts and Sciences) at the School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE), The University of Hong Kong; Professor Daniel Gittings, Associate Head, College of Humanities and Law at SPACE, The University of Hong Kong; Dr. Cheng Jie, Associate Professor at Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia; Dr. Jiang Su, Associate Professor at Peking University Law School; Dr. Chen Xuan, Associate Professor at Renmin University of China Law School; Dr. Tu Kai, Associate Professor at Tsinghua University School of Law; Dr. Zuo Yilu, Assistant Professor, Peking University Law School; Professor Wang Jianxue, Professor at Tianjin University Law School; and Dr. Zhang Xiaoshan, Lecturer, School of Law at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, amongst others.

The conference was closed with gratitude and success by Dr. Huang Mingtao, Associate Professor at Wuhan University School of Law and Deputy Director at “One Country, Two Systems” Law Institute, Renmin University of China; and Professor Wang Jiangyu, Director of Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law at City University of Hong Kong.

A detailed summary of academic viewpoints presented during this conference will be available in the form of a report after the release of our story.