“Today is a historic moment for Hong Kong,” Hong Kong Prime Minister John Lee said on Tuesday. The law will come into force in the Chinese special administrative region on March 23rd. The USA, Great Britain and the UN condemned the move.
The law was rushed through parliament. The USA, Great Britain and the European Union had previously warned that the plan might further restrict freedoms in Hong Kong.
Law sharply criticized internationally
In 2020, Beijing initially passed a so-called national security law in response to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The law, which has been sharply criticized internationally, enables the authorities to take tough action once morest all activities that they believe threaten China’s national security – and thus also to take draconian action once morest critics.
According to Lee, the additional Hong Kong security law that has now been enacted locally is intended to close loopholes in the Beijing law. Dozens of crimes, some of them new, are divided into five categories: treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage endangering national security and external interference.
The law “will allow Hong Kong to effectively prevent, prohibit and punish espionage activities, foreign intelligence plots and traps, infiltration and sabotage by enemy forces,” Lee said. In addition, the law will also effectively prevent “black-clad violence and color revolutions” – he was referring to the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019. Lee is under US sanctions over his monitoring of the protests as security chief.
Lee points to the need for stability
Until a few years ago, the Chinese Special Administrative Region was considered a bastion of freedom of expression in China. When the former British crown colony was returned to China in 1997, Beijing promised to uphold the principle of “one country, two systems”, which guaranteed the people of Hong Kong numerous civil rights, for 50 years. This had cemented Hong Kong’s status as a world-class economic center.
Lee said the government might now devote itself “fully to economic development.” He pointed to the need for stability to attract investors.
However, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the law would further impact rights and freedoms in the city and have “far-reaching implications” for the rule of law and the independence of institutions. “Broad definitions of national security and foreign interference will make things more difficult for those living, working and doing business in Hong Kong,” Cameron said.
UN: “Setback for the protection of human rights”
The UN human rights chief on Tuesday denounced the “rushed” passage of the law, calling it “a step backwards for the protection of human rights.” The US also expressed alarm: “We believe that these types of measures have the potential to accelerate the closure of Hong Kong’s once open society,” US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. “We are concerned regarding the far-reaching and, we believe, vaguely defined provisions of the law.”
