A certificate issued by the Chief Executive, one page, is now sufficient to reclassify any criminal offense in Hong Kong as a national security matter under the ordinance amendment tabled at LegCo on Tuesday. No court signature is required. The bill grants John Lee authority to issue security designations without specifying offense elements or requiring prosecutorial referral, a standard that Amnesty International's Hong Kong Desk, in its June 10 statement, identifies as ending the right of an accused to know the charge on which detention is based. Twenty villagers cleared from Northern Metropolis land this week received removal notices without designation paperwork; their cases remain under Planning Department jurisdiction.

At least two pro-democracy legal academics have flagged the certification clause as incompatible with Article 87 of the Basic Law, the fair trial guarantee that survived the 2020 National Security Law intact. John Lee's office said Tuesday the power is scoped to "clear and present" threats. The bill text does not define the phrase. The public comment window closes June 20, and second-reading debate is scheduled for July; the 10,000 ride-hailing licenses tabled the same day and the 2% civil service pay announcement will absorb most of Friday's public commentary, leaving that one-page certificate to advance toward a vote with no definition attached to its core term.