Hong Kong police get sweeping powers under new security law

HONG KONG: Hong Kong administration on Monday released additional details of China’s sweeping new national security law.

Under China’s new legislation, crimes of secession and sedition will be punishable by up to life in prison, stoking concerns of a much more authoritarian era in a city which has been racked by anti-China protests for the past year. Authorities will have the power to enter and search places for evidence. They can also restrict people under investigation from leaving Hong Kong.

It may also allow for confiscation of the proceeds related to any offence endangering national security. It will require foreign and Taiwan political organisations and agents to provide information on activities concerning Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram said they will deny law enforcement requests for user data in Hong Kong as they assess the impact of the new national security law enacted last week.

Earlier on Monday, activist Joshua Wong vowed not to end the fight for democracy.

Wong, one of the city’s most prominent young activists, was speaking outside a court where he and fellow campaigners were being prosecuted for involvement in civil unrest which rocked Hong Kong last year.

“We still have to let the world know that now is the time to stand with Hong Kong,” he told reporters. “With the belief of Hong Kong people to fight for freedom, we will never give up and surrender to Beijing.”

Also on Monday, a Hong Kong court denied bail to Tong Yingkit, 23, the first person charged under the new law after he carried a sign saying “Liberate Hong Kong” and drove a bike into police.

Chinese ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming on Monday accused Britain of “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs” over its response to a controversial national security law in Hong Kong. The UK government has said it will offer Hong Kong residents a broader path to citizenship in response to the sweeping new security law.