'Normal business dealings won't violate Article 23'
The chairwoman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Betty Yuen, on Wednesday said as long as businesses operate normally, they won't fall foul of proposed future national security laws.  Yuen was speaking after Justice Secretary Paul Lam and Security Secretary Chris Tang briefed the business community on plans for Basic Law Article 23 legislation. Yuen said some of those who attended the private seminar organised by the chamber called for more clarity regarding the proposals and for better communication efforts to allay any potential fears. She said the ministers assured them that businesses will not have to conduct extra compliance checks, and that it would be difficult for companies to accidentally commit national security offences, such as leaking state secrets. "There are quite specific, stringent criteria before you fall into that definition of disclosing state secrets that infringe the law," she said. "I think the chance of inadvertently doing that is pretty slim." She stressed that the chamber supports enacting the legislation, adding that it agrees with the government that the laws will enhance Hong Kong's economic development, rather than having any adverse effects. Representatives of more than a dozen overseas chambers also attended the seminar. The chairman of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau, Dato' KC Gan, said Article 23 legislation is long overdue here. "Because coming from a Southeast Asian country, all our businesses which are here only wish to have stability and conditions conducive to invest and to continue to invest in Hong Kong," he told reporters.