Gov't resources must not fall into the hands of ‘non-patriots,' Hong Kong environment chief says
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po in an interview published on Sunday that authorities would closely monitor the work of environmental groups to ensure statutory funding is not 'abused' for 'inappropriate purposes.'
Since the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, additional vetting procedures have been introduced to the ECF application process, Tse said.
Applicants must now sign a declaration pledging compliance with the security law and all local laws. Authorities also review the background and past work of applicant organisations to verify that they are 'patriotic.'
'We have to ensure that government resources do not end up in the hands of non-patriots, to prevent them from abusing such resources for activities endangering national security, rather than for the purposes of protecting the environment,' Tse said.
According to the ECF website, failure to submit the national security declaration renders an application invalid. The ECF application guidelines also state that the government has the right to disqualify recipient organisations on national security grounds and may bar them from future applications if they are deemed contrary to the public interest, morals, or safety.
Tse said all organisations currently involved in environmental projects were 'patriotic' and credited the new screening measures with producing 'significant results.'
The minister also pointed to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's move in 2022 to add national security clauses to the issuance of licences to markets, public entertainment venues and other premises.
When asked about the recent expansion of such requirements to licences for food businesses, cinemas, gaming centres and other premises, Tse said the move was to let society know that safeguarding national security 'is everyone's responsibility.'
In a Wen Wei Po interview in July 2023, Tse alleged that some green groups had 'ignored the boundaries of the law,' and that public funds had previously been allocated to 'anti-China' organisations. He added that environmental issues were 'easily hyped up' and could be used as a pretext to oppose the government.
High-ranking Hong Kong officials have taken turns to speak about various national security threats facing the city and have vowed stricter scrutiny ahead of the fifth anniversary of the national security law.
strictly vet applications for event subsidies, performance venues, exhibition content, and library collections in a bid to better safeguard national security.
Monday next week – on June 30 – marks five years since the national security law came into effect. The legislation was inserted directly into the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, in 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest.
It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump-Putin summit: was it a win for Russia or the US?
The highly anticipated US-Russia presidential summit in Alaska had raised hopes for progress on ending the Ukraine war, but instead left more questions than answers Advertisement Still, observers viewed Vladimir Putin's diplomatic return to US soil – his first in a decade – as a symbolic win for Moscow. The nearly three-hour talks, which both Putin and Donald Trump described as 'productive', signalled a potential thaw in the fraught US-Russia relationship despite concluding without a ceasefire agreement, they said. Meanwhile, as China offered a cautious endorsement of the summit, Chinese and Russian analysts warned that Beijing could face a strategic dilemma , wary of how the limited détente might reshape the US-China-Russia power triangle. With Ukraine and Europe notably absent from the discussions, Trump's post-summit remarks about territorial swaps and US security guarantees sparked confusion over whether he had tacitly accepted Russia's retention of occupied territories amid the prolonged war. Advertisement There was a joint press appearance after the meeting, but neither Trump nor Putin announced concrete outcomes or details on what they had agreed on. They also did not take any questions from reporters. Putin, who was the first to speak, described the US and Russia as 'close neighbours'. He said he hoped 'the agreement that we've reached together' would be seen 'constructively' by Kyiv and European capitals and 'they won't throw a wrench in the works'.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Will Trump-Putin thaw in Alaska leave China facing a 3-way dilemma?
The highly anticipated US-Russia presidential summit in Alaska had raised hopes for progress on ending the Ukraine war, but instead left more questions than answers Still, observers viewed Vladimir Putin's diplomatic return to US soil – his first in a decade – as a symbolic win for Moscow. The nearly three-hour talks, which both Putin and Donald Trump described as 'productive', signalled a potential thaw in the fraught US-Russia relationship despite concluding without a ceasefire agreement, they said. Meanwhile, as China offered a cautious endorsement of the summit, Chinese and Russian analysts warned that Beijing could face a strategic dilemma , wary of how the limited détente might reshape the US-China-Russia power triangle. With Ukraine and Europe notably absent from the discussions, Trump's post-summit remarks about territorial swaps and US security guarantees sparked confusion over whether he had tacitly accepted Russia's retention of occupied territories amid the prolonged war. There was a joint press appearance after the meeting, but neither Trump nor Putin announced concrete outcomes or details on what they had agreed on. They also did not take any questions from reporters. Putin, who was the first to speak, described the US and Russia as 'close neighbours'. He said he hoped 'the agreement that we've reached together' would be seen 'constructively' by Kyiv and European capitals and 'they won't throw a wrench in the works'.
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's top diplomat Wang Yi to visit India for first time in 3 years for border talks
Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India for the first time in three years to discuss the latest round of border talks, the Chinese foreign ministry has confirmed. During the trip from August 18 to 20, top diplomat Wang will serve as the 'special representative of the China-India boundary question' in the 24th round of border talks 'at the invitation of the Indian side', according to a Saturday statement from the ministry. This series of negotiations aims to address long-standing border disputes , which have seen a temporary de-escalation following years of tension. Wang is expected to meet top Indian officials including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. The two last met in Beijing in December to review disengagement in eastern Ladakh along the disputed border, known as the Line of Actual Control, where an estimated 50,000–60,000 troops remain deployed on each side. 'We stand ready to work with India to act on the important common understandings reached between leaders of our two countries, maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, cement political mutual trust, enhance practical cooperation, properly handle differences, and promote the sustained, sound and steady development of China-India ties ,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday in response to speculation about a trip by Wang. 'China and India are both major developing countries and important members of the Global South,' he said. 'A cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant as partners helping each other succeed is the right choice for both sides.'
