BEIJING/WASHINGTON: China on Friday introduced the draft of a controversial national security law in Hong Kong in its parliament to tighten Beijing’s control over the former British colony, in what could be the biggest blow to the territory’s autonomy and personal freedoms since 1997 when it came under Chinese rule.
Hong Kong, an economic powerhouse, is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. It has observed a “one country, two systems” policy since Britain returned sovereignty to China on July 1, 1997, which has allowed it certain freedoms the rest of China does not have.
The draft bill on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security was submitted to the National People’s Congress (NPC) which began its week-long session here.
The new law would proscribe secessionist and subversive activity as well as foreign interference and terrorism in the city – all developments that had been troubling Beijing for some time, but most pressingly over the past year of increasingly violent anti-government protests, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
The law to ban “treason, secession, sedition and subversion” could bypass Hong Kong’s lawmakers.
HK opp slams China
News of China’s plans was met with immediate criticism by opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong, human rights groups and the US. “It is the end of ‘one country, two systems’,” said Dennis Kwok, a pro-democracy lawmaker, referring to the principle by which Hong Kong has retained limited democracy and civil liberties since coming under Chinese control. “(They are) completely destroying Hong Kong.”
China’s move is also significant in that China’s central government appears to have all but given up hope that Hong Kong’s administration will succeed at passing local legislation on such a law, amid a hostile political environment and deeply divided city, the report said.
Pro-democracy activists had said they feared “the end of Hong Kong” if China brought the new security law.
The bill which is set to be approved by the NPC, regarded as the rubber-stamp parliament for its routine approval of proposals by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), comes in the backdrop of relentless agitation by the local Hong Kong people demanding political and administrative autonomy agreed by China when it took possession of the former British colony in 1997.
US lawmakers condemn
Top American lawmakers on Thursday said that the Chinese efforts to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong threatens to erode its autonomy and the freedom that Hongkongers cherish.
US President Donald Trump said that he will address the issue when it happens. “I don’t know what it is because nobody knows yet. If it happens, we’ll address that issue very strongly,” Trump told reporters.
However, top American lawmakers alleged that based on preliminary reports, the proposed law could criminalise protests and other freedoms under the guise of banning terrorism and foreign interference.
“By proposing national security laws for Hong Kong, the Chinese government and Communist Party will push Hong Kong’s autonomy to the breaking point,” Senator Marco Rubio said. (Agencies)