The right to safety
US irresponsible remarks about China's security legislation in HK reflects its double standards: observers
The US, where politicians including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo bluster about the national security law for Hong Kong, is actually one of the countries that has issued the most laws related to national security, observers found.
The dozens of laws that the US has enacted, from its Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to the recent Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, show a constant sense of urgency that the country has had for national security threats at different times, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
The US National Security Act against treason and subversion, which then President Harry Truman signed in 1947, has been revised several times during the past 70 years. The crime of treason can lead to a maximum sentence of death and government subversion activities carry a penalty of up to 20 years in the US.
The 9/11 attacks in 2001 brought the US government’s fear of terrorism to a boiling point, leading to the Patriot Act – a new national security law which expanded the powers of US law-enforcement departments in monitoring citizens’ information and in detaining and expelling expatriates suspected of having links to terrorism.
The Patriot Act was reported to have caused many power abuse issues by the US government. In 2009, AirTran Airways kicked nine South Asian Americans off a New Year’s Day flight after other passengers reported hearing their remarks about “the safest place to sit on an airplane,” reported The Seattle Times in January 2009. The nine people were later proved not to be a threat to national security.
The key parts of the controversial act were suspended by the US congress in May 2015 due to wide and harsh criticism, US media reports said. Nonetheless, most of its contents were later repackaged as the USA Freedom Act, which is still implemented.
The public also found that the US’ legislation on national security, such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act and Foreign Missions Act, is increasingly reaching into more specialized fields, that the country issued to control the actions of foreign individuals and institutions in the US.
Since the Trump administration began, it has passed laws including the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act and Export Control Reform Act in the name of protecting “economic and national security interests,” restricting foreign investment in sensitive industries and tightening export controls.
Hubris and hypocrisy
“The fact that the US has so many security laws shows that they attach great importance to national security legislation and cannot tolerate threats to any aspect of national security,” Li said. “However, the US also makes irresponsible remarks about China’s security legislation, which reflects its double standards.”
It is also the case that the US has a sense of its own superiority, believing that different political systems and values are wrong, and it is accustomed to dealing with international affairs with overwhelming force, which shows its desire for hegemony, Li said.
The US is concerned about China’s rise, so it is always confrontational when dealing with China, Li noted.
The central government is responsible for upholding national security, which is the same in any country, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi at conference on Sunday when about the proposed national legislation for Hong Kong.
Excessive foreign meddlin Kong affairs has placed Chin tional security in jeopardy, W
“Under such circumstanc lishing a legal system and en mechanisms for safeguardin security in the Hong Kong S become a pressing priority,”
The implementation of th tional security laws in Hong improve the region’s legal sy contribute to a better busine ment, said local businesspeopl
Felix Chung Kwok-pan, hon ident of the Hong Kong Appar said that a stable business envi and policies are crucial for Hon business circles, according to a news site Deutsche Welle (DW
“The national security law w promote the business environm Hong Kong,” Chung said, addi some shops were forced to clos violent demonstrations, which foreign buyers and traders awa region for fear of danger. “How do business (in that case)?” he
Since many countries aroun world have their own national laws, it is fair enough for Chin its national security laws) as we added.