Govt to consider exemptions on leaking state secrets
Security minister Chris Tang on Tuesday said the government will consider whether exemptions could be made on state secrets under proposed Article 23 national security legislation, if leaks are made in the public interest. At a Legco meeting, the New People's Party's Regina Ip and Dominic Lee asked Tang whether journalists would be able to disclose state secrets when an important matter of public interest was at stake. In response, the secretary for security said the government is aware of concerns regarding this issue and will look into how to deal with such scenarios. "We'll have to discuss what important public interests are. Of course, it's not frivolous. Not everyone [using the reason of] public interest will be exempted. Otherwise the law will be ineffective," he said. A consultation document sets out state secrets as including classified information on economic, social and technological developments in China and the SAR, as well as major policy decisions, and defence and diplomatic activities. Tang told lawmakers it's important state secrets are clearly defined, so public officers, government contractors and the public all know exactly what they entail. "Disclosure of state secrets is part of the laws in places like the US and Canada. In the consultation document, we set out these points clearly whereas in overseas laws they don't spell those points out clearly," he said.