China Passes Hong Kong Security Law Aimed at Crushing Protests Beijing rejects criticism that the law will curb people’s freedoms in the financial hub
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-passes-hong-kong-security-law-aimed-at-crushing-protests-11593488146?mod=hp_lead_pos1
HONG KONG—China’s legislature approved Tuesday a sweeping new law aimed at quashing threats to national security in Hong Kong, rejecting Western criticism that Beijing’s efforts will curb people’s freedoms in the protest-torn city.
The legislation was passed by senior Chinese lawmakers, according to Lau Siu-kai, a senior adviser to Beijing on Hong Kong policy. Drafted and approved in an unusually rapid and opaque process, the law has stirred fears across pro-democracy groups, businesses, schools and media over its potential impact.
The law is meant to prevent and punish subversive, secessionist and terrorist activities in the former British colony, as well as collusion with foreign forces. Its full text is expected to be released later Tuesday and the law may be put into effect in time for the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule on Wednesday.
Since Beijing first announced plans for enacting national-security legislation for Hong Kong in late May, Chinese officials have repeatedly rebuffed criticism from opposition politicians and rights activists in the city, as well as the U.S. and other Western powers, who have decried the law as a tool for suppressing civil liberties in the Asian financial center and undercutting its promised autonomy from Beijing.
Chinese state media and legal experts have offered assurances that the law would affect just “a very small number” of people in Hong Kong, and would help restore peace and prosperity to a city rocked by antigovernment protests over the past year.
According to a summary of draft provisions released this month, the law allows the central government to supervise the policing of subversive activities in Hong Kong, and in some cases, intervene directly. The standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress would also reserve the right to interpret the law, meaning Beijing has the final say over how it is implemented, rather than the city’s courts.
Opponents of the law say it overrides Hong Kong’s framework of self-governance—known as “one country, two systems”—under which Beijing had pledged to keep the territory’s “capitalist system and way of life” unchanged for 50 years following its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
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