Chief Executive John Lee says ‘small portion’ of national security arrests reinforces message that such legislation only affects minority
The average number of people apprehended in Hong Kong annually over national security-related offences only made up 0.2 per cent of police arrests each year, the city’s leader has said, arguing that the relevant legislation has achieved its aim of targeting a small minority.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the force had made 332 arrests in connection with such offences since Beijing’s promulgation of the national security law in 2020.
At a media briefing before his weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, he noted that the figure amounted to 66 arrests a year, just 0.2 per cent of police’s annual average of about 30,000 arrests for all criminal offences.
“It’s really a small portion. When we promulgated the Hong Kong national security law, we made it very clear that the law is aimed at only a small portion of people who endanger national security. This figure reinforces that clear message.”
