Macao lawmakers pass a bill allowing closed-door trials for national security reasons

HONG KONG (AP) - Lawmakers in China's casino city of Macao unanimously passed a law Thursday that would allow closed-door trials in cases where authorities decide that public proceedings would harm national security.

The legislation adds new authority to a 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 powers over political expression in recent years.

Under the new Macao legislation, if judges and the city's national security committee both decide that hearing a case publicly could harm national security, judges can hold proceedings behind closed doors.

The committee, whose duties will include studying how to implement security policies of the central Beijing government, currently consists of members such as security officials, police chiefs and the city leader. The legislation also would expand the committee's membership to represent a somewhat broader cross-section of interests by adding other city officials such as the heads of cultural affairs and education and youth development.

Allowing closed trials in criminal cases worries some observers, especially after Macao police last year detained former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San on suspicion of colluding with outside forces in breach of the territory's national security law. It was the first publicly known case under the law after the legislation was enacted in 2009 and revised in 2023.

The Macao government said in a statement that the bill passed Thursday is of great significance for effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. It will take effect a day after it is published in the official gazette.

Macao, a former Portuguese colony, has grown from a monopoly-driven gambling enclave into one of the world's biggest gaming hubs since its return to Chinese rule in 1999.

Its pro-democracy camp was never as influential as in Hong Kong, which is a former British colony that returned to China in 1997. The Macao government also faced far less massive protests challenging its rule when compared to Hong Kong.

But more political controls were introduced to the casino hub in recent years, especially after huge anti-government protests rocked Hong Kong in 2019, the biggest challenge to Beijing's rule since its handover.