Macao lawmakers pass bill to allow closed-door trials for national security reasons

Hong Kong — Lawmakers in China’s casino city of Macao unanimously passed a law on Thursday that would allow for closed-door trials in cases where authorities determine public proceedings could harm national security.

The legislation adds new powers to the National Security Committee in Macao, which is a special administrative region of China along with neighboring Hong Kong. Critics say authorities in both cities have been strengthening their authority over political expression in recent years.

Under the new Macao statute, if both the judge and the city’s National Security Committee decide that publicly hearing the case would harm national security, the judge can hold the hearing behind closed doors.

The committee, which is tasked with studying how to implement the central Beijing government’s security policies, currently includes members such as security officials, police chiefs and city leaders. The legislation expands the committee’s membership to represent a slightly broader cross-section of interests by including other city officials, such as heads of cultural affairs and education and youth development.

Allowing closed trials in criminal cases has worried some observers, especially after Macao police arrested former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San last year on suspicion of collaborating with outside powers in violation of the territory’s national security law. This is the first publicly known case under the law since the legislation was enacted in 2009 and revised in 2023.

The Macao government said in a statement that the bill passed on Thursday is of great importance to effectively protect national sovereignty, security and development interests. It will come into force one day after its publication in the official gazette.

Macao, a former Portuguese colony, has grown from a monopoly-run gambling enclave to become one of the world’s biggest gaming hubs since returning to Chinese rule in 1999.

Its pro-democracy camp has never been more influential than in Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997. Compared to Hong Kong, the Macao government faced fewer massive protests challenging its rule.

But more political controls have been introduced to the casino hub in recent years, particularly after massive anti-government protests rocked Hong Kong in 2019, the biggest challenge to Beijing’s post-handover regime.