Visitors told not to carry seditious materials

Customs to alert police if tourists are caught with items in breach of national security law

Customs will alert police if visitors are caught with seditious materials and fail to give a reasonable excuse under the city’s domestic national security legislation, but it has not offered a clear definition of what items will fall foul of the new law.

Commissioner of Customs and Excise Louise Ho Pui-shan yesterday said her department would amend its internal guidelines and provide training on materials that endangered national security.

The shake-up follows the enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance last month, a move which fulfilled the city’s obligation under Article 23 of the Basic Law.

The legislation introduces 39 offences divided into five categories: treason; insurrection, incitement to mutiny and disaffection, and acts with seditious intention; sabotage; external interference endangering national security; and theft of state secrets and espionage.

Ho was asked how authorities would respond to tourists carrying old newspapers, such as copies of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, or returning residents with books covering military matters.

The customs chief only said there were no import and export restrictions on regular books, but urged visitors not to transport anything that could be in breach of the law.

“When the customs inspects tourists who are entering Hong Kong or their luggage, if we find some suspicious publications and we have a reasonable suspicion that these publications have a seditious intent, where the tourists do not have a reasonable defence, only then will we alert the case to the relevant law enforcement units,” she said.

Ho said the decision to investigate in such cases would be left up to police.

“I need to remind residents and tourists … when you go to a destination abroad, you need to know the customs clearance requirements of the place,” she said.

Asked if authorities had created a list of banned books or materials that could be deemed as “soft resistance”, Ho said a definition of the phrase had not been laid out.

While local authorities have yet to officially define the meaning of soft resistance, multiple senior local and Beijing officials have used the phrase to describe a wide spectrum of anti-government activities.

Ho said the department would train staff so they could handle cases under the new law, including learning about methods used to spread ideas that threatened national security.

“This will strengthen their awareness in terms of safeguarding national security,” she said.