Cap 521 s 12 Interpretation (OFFICIAL SECRETS ORDINANCE)

Contents of Section

Chapter:	521	Title:	OFFICIAL SECRETS ORDINANCE	Gazette Number:
Section:	12	Heading:	Interpretation	Version Date:	30/06/1997

(1) In this Part-
"armed forces" (武裝部隊) means the armed forces of the Crown;
"British national" (英國國民) means a British citizen, a British Overseas citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen, a British National (Overseas) or a British protected person;
"defence" (防務) means-

(a) the size, shape, organization, logistics, order of battle, deployment, operations, state of readiness and training of the armed forces;

(b) the weapons, stores or other equipment of the armed forces and the invention, development, production and operation of such equipment and research relating to it;

(d) plans and measures for the maintenance of essential supplies and services that are or would be needed in time of war;

"disclose" and "disclosure" (披露), in relation to a document or other article, include parting with possession of it;
"Hong Kong permanent resident" (香港永久性居民) has the meaning assigned to that term by section 2(1) of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap 115);
"international relations" (國際關係) means the relations between States, between international organizations or between one or more States and one or more such organizations and includes-

(a) any matter relating to a State other than the United Kingdom or to an international organization that is capable of affecting the relations of the United Kingdom with another State or with an international organization; and

(b) any matter relating to the relations between the United Kingdom and Hong Kong or the external relations of Hong Kong;

"prescribed" (訂明) means prescribed by an order made by the Governor;
"public servant" (公務人員) means-

(a) any person who holds an office of emolument under the Crown in right of the Government of Hong Kong, whether such office is permanent or temporary;

(b) any person employed in the civil service of the Crown in right of the United Kingdom, including Her Majesty

Diplomatic Service and Her Majesty

Overseas Civil Service;

(d) any person who is a member or employee of a prescribed body or a body of a prescribed class and either is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph or belongs to a prescribed class of members or employees of any such body;

(e) any person who holds a prescribed office or who is an employee of such a person and either is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph or belongs to a prescribed class of such employees;

"State" (國家) includes the government of a State and any organ of its government;
"territory" (地區) means any territory, not being a State, outside Hong Kong.
(2) In this Part, "government contractor" (政府承辦商) means, subject to subsection (3), any person who is not a public servant but who provides, or is employed in the provision of, goods or services-

(a) for the purposes of the Crown in right of the Government of Hong Kong, of any of the services, forces or bodies mentioned in subsection (1) or of the holder of any office prescribed under subsection (1); or

(b) under an agreement or arrangement certified by the Governor as being an agreement or arrangement to which the Government of a territory, the Government of a State, other than the United Kingdom, or an international organization is a party or which is subordinate to, or made for the purposes of implementing, any such agreement or arrangement.

(3) Where an employee or a class of employees of any body, or of any holder of an office, is prescribed by an order made for the purposes of subsection (1), the following persons shall be deemed not to be a government contractor for the purposes of this Part-

(a) any employee of that body, or of the holder of that office, who is not prescribed or is not within the prescribed class of employees; and

(b) any person who does not provide, or is not employed in the provision of, goods or services for the purposes of the performance of those functions of the body or the holder of the office in connection with which the employee or prescribed class of employees is engaged.

(4) In this Part, "international organization" (國際組織) means, subject to subsections (5) and (6), an organization of which only States or States and territories are members and includes a reference to any organ of such an organization.
(5) In subsection (4) the reference to an international organization includes a reference to any such organization whether or not one of which only States or States and territories are members and includes a commercial organization.
(6) In determining for the purposes of this section whether only States or States and territories are members of an organization, any member that is itself an organization of which only States are members, or that is an organ of such an organization, shall be treated as a State.
(7) In this Part, "security or intelligence" (保安或情報) means the work of, or in support of, the security or intelligence services or any part of them, and references to information relating to security or intelligence include references to information held or transmitted by those services or by persons in support of them, or any part of them.

[cf. 1989 c. 6 ss. 1(9), 2(4), 3(5), 12 & 13 U.K.]