The average number of people apprehended in Hong Kong annually over national security-related offences only made up 0.2 per cent of police arrests each year, the city’s leader has said, arguing that the relevant legislation has achieved its aim of targeting a small minority.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the force had made 332 arrests in connection with such offences since Beijing’s promulgation of the national security law in 2020.

At a media briefing before his weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, he noted that the figure amounted to 66 arrests a year, just 0.2 per cent of police’s annual average of about 30,000 arrests for all criminal offences.

“It’s really a small portion. When we promulgated the Hong Kong national security law, we made it very clear that the law is aimed at only a small portion of people who endanger national security. This figure reinforces that clear message.”

Police last year made 36,369 arrests for various criminal offences, a 6.3 per cent increase from the 34,135 recorded in 2023.

The Beijing-imposed national security law, which criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, will have been in force for five years by the end of this month.