# Macau national security law

The Macau national security law (Chinese: 維護國家安全法, lit. 'Safeguarding National Security Law'; Portuguese: Lei relativa à defesa da segurança do Estado, lit. 'Law related to the defense of the security of the State') is a law in Macau which prohibits and punishes acts of "treason, secession, and subversion" against the Central government, as well as "preparatory acts" leading to any of the three acts. Taken into effect on 3 March 2009, the purpose of the law is to fulfil Article 23 of the Macau Basic Law, the de facto constitution of the Macau Special Administration Region. Macau National Security Law has been in force for eleven years. Pro-Beijing state-owned Hong Kong Newspaper Wen Wei Po claimed that Macau's National Security Law "has not been used".

## History

According to the Secretary for Administration and Justice Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan, drafting began in 2004, taking into account examples from Portugal and Italy. Until 1999, Macau was a colony of Portugal. The draft was released on 22 October 2008. It proposed to ban treason, attempts to overthrow the Chinese government and theft of national secrets. Some of the proposed offenses carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail.
The law came into force in 2009. This caused some disquiet and concern among pro-democrats, who fear that this new law could limit Macao citizens' freedom of expression and protest, and that it is intended to serve as an example for its rebellious counterpart, Hong Kong.

### Response to drafting of the law

Edmund Ho, Chief Executive of Macau, said in a press conference that the bill targets "serious criminal behavior" and will not limit protests or criticism of Beijing. He further said "Chanting a few slogans, writing a few articles criticizing the central government or the Macau government, these activities won't be regulated by this proposed law." Macau Legislator Au Kam-san said "We don't want to see any mainland style national security law. It would be acceptable to enact a law based on the Johannesburg Principles.
Political commentator Larry So Man-yum said the legislation would do well in Macau given residents' patriotism and their lack of awareness about civil rights. "There will be absolutely no problem. Compared to Hongkongers, Macau people have high levels of acceptance for the central government. No "Broomhead" will emerge in Macau." In 2003, Secretary for Security Regina Ip was nicknamed "Broomhead" for attempting to sell Article 23 in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government on 22 October responded with having no plan to embark on the legislation, adding its most pressing commitments are economic and livelihood issues.

### Hong Kong protests

During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Macau stayed largely silent, as was predicted. This meant that no modification to Macau's NSL was made at the moment, making it, in the view of the Central Government, "a posterchild of the one country, two systems" policy, and "an example for Taiwan". This was due not only to a really strong economic performance, but, also, to the better willingness of the Portuguese colonial administration to allow Chinese integration earlier on, such as during the cultural revolution.

### 2023 update

National Security legislation was updated on 18 May 2023, when the Legislature unanimously passed amendments aimed at "further protecting National Security in the complicated environment faced by China", including expanding the definition of secession to include acts of non-violence, and redefining the crime of "theft of official secrets" as "violation of official secrets".