The seminar titled “The Evolution and Impact of National Security Law: The Interaction between China Mainland and Hong Kong-Macao Legal Systems” was successfully held at the Cultural Building (E34), University of Macau, on December 7, 2024.
The opening ceremony featured addresses by Professor Ma Huaide, President of the China University of Political Science and Law; Ms. Zhang Jing, First-Grade Inspector of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education; and Professor Tong Io Cheng, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Macau. Guests included Mr. Wang Jianyuan, Deputy Director-General and Inspector at Level 1, and Mr. Pan Baoliang, Division Chief and First-Grade Inspector of the Department of Law of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR; Ms. Liu Jiahui, Level 2 Inspector, and Mr. Gao Zhen, Division Chief of the Legal Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR; Mr. Bie Zhi, Division Chief, and Mr. Wu Jun, Deputy Division Chief of the Research Office of the Hong Kong and Macao Basic Law Committee of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee; and Ms. Song Pei, Deputy Division Chief of the Eighth Bureau of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee. Nearly 40 legal scholars from China Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao gathered to discuss the development of national security law and its importance in legal practices within the Greater Bay Area.
The seminar was structured in three sessions. The first session, chaired by Professor Xiong Wei, Dean of the Law School at Shenzhen University. During this session, Professor Qin GuanYing, Associate Dean of the School of Judicial Police of Gansu University of Political Science and Law gave a keynote speech on the legislative evolution of China’s national security law. Tu Kai, Deputy Director of Office of Legal Affairs and Associate Professor of the School of Law of Tsinghua University, proposed a new analytical framework on the interaction between the laws of the China Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Guo Tianwu, Professor of the School of Law of Sun Yat-sen University and Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Basic Law Research Center, conducted an in-depth discussion on the application of the certificate system for cases involving national security.
Commentaries were provided by Professor Chen Baifeng, Dean of the School of Law of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and Professor Zhu Jie, Deputy Dean of the Law School of Wuhan University.
The second session was chaired by Professor Li Xiang, Vice Dean of the Law School and Institute of “One Country, Two Systems” and Basic Law of Jinan University. During this session, Professor Yao Guojian, Associate Dean of the Law School, China University of Political Science and Law, gave a keynote speech on the relationship between the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Basic Law. Professor Zou Pingxue, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Basic Law Research Center of Shenzhen University, made an important speech on the establishment of a sound supporting legal system for the protection of national security in Hong Kong. Mr. Wei Leijie, Associate Professor of School of Law of Xiamen University, analyzed the legislative features and future outlook of Hong Kong’s national security law, and Ms. Xiao Huina, Assistant Professor of the Department of Law and Business of Hong Kong Shue Yan University, made an in-depth analysis of the judicial application of Hong Kong’s “Maintenance of National Security Ordinance”. Mr. Lau Shan, Lecturer of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, made a special report on the impact of the Hong Kong National Security Law on the disclosure obligations in Hong Kong’s family proceedings after its entry into force, and Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Law of the Macau University of Science and Technology, Mr. Xue Wenchao, explored the interactions between the criminal provisions of the National Security Law of Macao and the overall norms of the criminal law. Professor Lok Wai Kin of the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau gave a keynote speech on the evidence and optimization of systematic national security education in Macao. Mr. Tu Kai, Associate Professor of the School of Law and Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Office of Tsinghua University, and Mr. Liu Renwen, Researcher of the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, were the discussants.
The third session was divided into two parts, chaired respectively by Professor Zhao Jun, Executive Vice Dean of Qiushi College of Zhejiang University and by Professor Lok Wai Kin of the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau. In the first part, Professor Zhu Jie, Deputy Dean of the Law School of Wuhan University, made a report on the theme of “Status and Problems of National Security Law Teaching”; Mr. Yang Liu, Professor of Criminal Justice School in Zhongnan University of Finance and Law, made an in-depth elaboration on “On the Nature and Characteristics of the Criminal Law Provisions in the Hong Kong National Security Law”; Professor He Zhipeng, Dean of the School of Law, Jilin University, and Professor Zhu Xiaoqin, Vice Dean of the School of Law, Xiamen University, acted as the critics.
During the second part, Professor He Zhipeng, Dean of the Faculty of Law of Jilin University, gave a keynote speech on the significance of national security education in terms of quality and professionalism, and Mr. Wang Qianhua, Deputy Director of the Research Center for the Basic Law of Hong Kong and Macao of Shenzhen University, explored the practice of the course on “Overall National Security Concepts and the Rule of Law in Relation to Foreign Countries”. Professor Li Xiang, Director of the Department of Development and Planning, Director of the Office of Academic Program Development, and Executive Director of the Institute of National Security Studies of the East China University of Political Science and Law, gave an in-depth explanation on the construction of national security law in Mainland China, and Prof. Shu Hongshui, Dean of the National Security School of the Northwestern University of Political Science and Law, gave a special speech on the status quo, problems, and countermeasures for the education of national security law in our country. Prof. Zou Pingxue of the Law School of Shenzhen University and Prof. Zhao Jun, Executive Vice Dean of the Qiushi College of Zhejiang University were the discussants.
In the closing session, Professor Li Juqian, Director of the Office of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Affairs at China University of Political Science and Law, delivered concluding remarks. Professor Tong Io Cheng, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau, noted that the seminar made significant contributions to deepening research on national security law and promoting positive interactions between the legal systems of the China Mainland and the SARs. The successful convening of this seminar will provide important academic support for advancing the rule of law in the Greater Bay Area.