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HKFP
4 days ago
- Business
- HKFP
Eateries, entertainment premises could lose licence over conduct ‘contrary' to national security
Hong Kong authorities have warned restaurants, entertainment premises, and other businesses that they could lose their licences if they engage in acts deemed 'contrary' to national security. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) sent letters to businesses at the end of May about new national security-related clauses under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, according to local media reports. The letter states that if business licence holders and 'related persons' engage in 'offending conduct' against national security or public interest, authorities could revoke their licence. 'Related persons' include directors, management, employees, agents, and subcontractors, the letter read. In response to media enquiries, the FEHD said the conditions were aimed at deterring behaviour contrary to national security, and that licence holders who abide by the law would not be affected. According to an updated version of the FEHD's food business licence application form dated May 2025, applicants have to sign beneath a paragraph that reads: 'I shall ensure that no act or activity engaged or involved in by me or any of my related persons… may constitute or cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security under the National Security Law or other laws of the HKSAR, or conduct is otherwise contrary to the interests of national security or the interest of the public (including public morals, public order and/or public safety) of Hong Kong.' A July 2024 version of the form contained no such paragraph. Local media outlets reported that, besides restaurants, businesses holding other types of licences – including cinemas, gaming centres, funeral parlours, and saunas also saw the same national security conditions. HKFP has reached out to the FEHD for comment. Government adviser Ronny Tong told HK01 in an interview published on Sunday that it was 'hard to say' if the new conditions were targeted at 'yellow shops,' a term that refers to businesses that have expressed a pro-democracy stance. When asked if the phrase 'Hong Kong add oil' could be risky, Tong said he could not give a blanket answer. 'If it is just a saying, or a description, or an icon… I think you need to consider the wider environment and what the intention is,' he said.
South China Morning Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong subsidiary law push prompted by Sino-US tensions, ‘muted society'
Uncertainty surrounding escalating US-China tensions and a 'relatively muted society' may have prompted Hong Kong authorities to propose new subsidiary legislation for safeguarding national security, observers have said, although they dismissed speculation the law targets ongoing high-profile cases. In addition, a legal scholar called for more procedural clarity when introducing bills, particularly in circumstances when the central government's Office for Safeguarding National Security takes over cases. On Monday, the Security Bureau and the Department of Justice cited national security risks amid the 'complicated geopolitical situation' in proposing the subsidiary legislation to safeguard national security effectively 'as early as possible'. Key aspects of the legislation included declaring the premises of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong as 'prohibited places' and specifying powers of the office when it exercises jurisdiction over cases that were of 'a serious and egregious nature'. 04:19 Hong Kong passes domestic national security law, fast-tracking legislation shelved for 2 decades Hong Kong passes domestic national security law, fast-tracking legislation shelved for 2 decades Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a senior counsel and a member of the Executive Council, a key decision-making body advising the city leader, argued that the timing of the authorities' move was strategic, occurring a year after the domestic security law, known as Article 23 of the Basic Law, took effect in March 2024.
