NSL judges won’t sit on candidate vetting body: Govt

Government officials have rejected suggestions that national security judges should sit on a vetting body that screens would-be election candidates in future, as questions persist on whether the committee should comprise only principal government officials.

The creation of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee is a key feature of Beijing’s overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system, with the body to determine how patriotic potential candidates are.

Decisions made by the committee will be final and cannot be subject to judicial review, prompting questions as to whether or not it would be more appropriate to have judges – such as national security judges or retired judges – sit on the body.

But speaking on a radio show on Saturday, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Erick Tsang, said it is not right to let what he called “outsiders” do the job.

He said these people might not be willing to handle the task either, as such vetting would bring huge pressure, and they may be subjected to doxxing or foreign sanctions.

Tsang said government ministers, who are trusted absolutely by Beijing, are more suitable candidates, as the vetting body will see confidential information about national security.

Speaking on the same programme, Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng noted that national security judges, who deal with cases brought to court, should not be affected.

She said this is because a potential candidate might be disqualified, but he or she might not necessarily have violated the national security law.

The justice chief also said the vetting body would examine all information about potential candidates, including their past remarks.

She said it is hard to say how far back the committee would look, as comments people made ten years ago could also be relevant.