China's State Council on Friday appointed Luo Huining, current director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as the region's new national security adviser.

Luo Huining

Luo will sit on Hong Kong's newly established Committee for Safeguarding National Security, which is chaired by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, to provide advice on matters relating to the duties of the committee.

The committee was set up as envisioned in the recently promulgated National Security Law for Hong Kong, which took effect on Tuesday, to handle national security affairs.

The law stipulates that the committee assumes primary responsibility for safeguarding national security, including assessing situations, formulating policies and coordinating major work and significant operations, and the committee shall be under the supervision of and accountable to the central government.

The law also stipulates that the central government shall establish the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR to assess security situations, suggest major strategies, collect intelligence and oversee, guide and support the HKSAR in national security work, as well as exercise jurisdiction over a small number of criminal cases under specific circumstances.

Zheng Yanxiong

The State Council on Friday appointed Zheng Yanxiong, currently serving as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, as the head of the office.

Li Jiangzhou and Sun Qingye have been appointed deputy heads of the office. Li is the director-general of the Police Liaison Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. No background information on Sun was immediately available.

Lam welcomed the newly appointed officials. She greeted them in a statement on Friday, pledging her utmost efforts to work with Luo and Zheng.

She said the HKSAR government will work closely with the national security adviser and the national security office to "perform their respective functions and do their utmost in implementing the National Security Law, fulfilling the duty of the HKSAR in safeguarding national security".

Lam on Friday also appointed Edwina Lau as deputy commissioner of police to head the department for safeguarding national security of the Hong Kong Police Force.

Lam said Lau has served in the Hong Kong Police Force for 35 years and has demonstrated "distinguished leadership, professionalism and perseverance".

"I have no doubt that she will discharge the historic responsibility of leading the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force to fulfill its crucial duty at this critical moment," Lam said.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government also announced on Friday that a specialized prosecution division for national security offenses under the Department of Justice has been established as required by the National Security Law.

The division's first group of prosecutors has been appointed by the secretary for justice after obtaining the consent of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security, and the head will be appointed later.

Lam has also designated six serving magistrates from the judiciary as designated judges to handle future national security cases.

"The committee will shortly convene its first meeting to fully advance the work on safeguarding national security," the spokesman added.

The HKSAR government has announced all staff members of the committee, including Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Secretary for Justice Teresa Chen, Secretary for Security John Lee and the commissioner and deputy commissioner of police, Tang Ping-keung and Edwina Lau.