Hong Kong has introduced a new offence requiring suspects in national security investigations to surrender their passwords – or face up to one year in jail. A national security law poster. Photo: GovHK. The government on Monday gazetted amendments to the “implementation rules” of the Beijing-imposed national security law, introducing the password requirement alongside granting several new powers to authorities. Officials are set to brief lawmakers on the amendment on Tuesday.
Under the new rules, police can require people under national security investigation to provide passwords or help decrypt their electronic devices. Failure to do so can be punished by up to one year behind bars and a HK$100,000 fine.
Providing a false or misleading statement can be punished by up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$500,000.
Police can also compel anyone believed to know of the password or the decryption method of a device under investigation to disclose such information. Similarly, those who own, possess, control, or have authorised access to a device, as well as current or former users, can be subject to such an order.
Customs’ new power
The new rules have also empowered customs officers to freeze or confiscate assets relating to national security crimes or to forfeit “articles that have seditious intention.” Such powers were previously restricted to the secretary for justice, the secretary for security, and the police force. The Hong Kong Police Force emblem. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. The amendments also increased the maximum penalty for a “foreign agent” in Hong Kong who fails to disclose information sought by the authorities – from six months to one year in jail.
A foreign agent is defined as someone acting for a foreign government, political party, or certain international organisation in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the amendments include a new mechanism allowing those deemed foreign agents to apply to the court to revoke or alter a data demand.
This follows a Court of Final Appeal ruling last year that quashed the convictions of three Tiananmen vigil activists for not complying with a national security police data order.
In 2021, authorities accused the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China of being a foreign agent and demanded its records. The activists denied the accusation and disobeyed the order. They were convicted and sentenced to four and a half months in jail in 2023 . The Court of Final Appeal. Photo: Peter Lee/HKFP. But the top court ruled that authorities failed to prove the Alliance was a foreign agent and that the trio were denied a fair trial due to heavily redacted evidence .
In a statement on Monday, a government spokesperson said the amendments only enhanced authorities’ powers in handling national security cases, adding that they are in line with the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, as well as human rights protections.
“Law-abiding persons will not contravene the law inadvertently. The Amendment Rules will not affect the lives of the general public and the normal operation of institutions and organisations,” the spokesperson said.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 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 .