Ministry highlights success of national security law in Hong Kong stability

A total of 394 people have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of endangering national security from the implementation of the Hong Kong national security law on June 30, 2020, to early April this year, the Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday.

Among them, 208 have been prosecuted and 180 convicted, the ministry added, noting that Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and other leading figures involved in anti-China activities and attempts to destabilize Hong Kong have been punished in accordance with the law.

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region took effect on June 30, 2020. The ministry stated that the law has helped remove social disorder, consolidate the rule of law, support economic recovery, and promote Hong Kong's historic transition from chaos to order and then to prosperity. It has also provided a solid legal guarantee for the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems", the ministry said.

Over the past six years, Hong Kong has continued to improve its legal system for safeguarding national security under the guidance of the national security law, with multiple laws and supporting regulations forming a coordinated framework.

In March 2024, Hong Kong completed local legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law, and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance was gazetted and took effect. The ordinance further clarified definitions of offenses under the national security law and added specific penalties.

In May 2025, two pieces of subsidiary legislation designed to support the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR in performing its duties were gazetted and came into force. In March 2026, amendments to the implementation rules for Article 43 of the Hong Kong national security law also took effect, further strengthening Hong Kong's institutional safeguards for national security.

The ministry stated that the increasingly complete legal framework targets a very small number of people who endanger national security, allowing authorities to take precise action against illegal activities and restore order. The framework has curbed the activities of anti-China forces seeking to destabilize Hong Kong and frustrated attempts by external forces to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and use the city to contain China, it said.