Hong Kong’s national security law takes effect
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s new national security law came into force on Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for crimes that include treason and insurrection.
The law, commonly referred to as Article 23, targets five categories of national security crimes and was swiftly passed by Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature on Tuesday.
The United States, the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom have been among the law’s strongest critics, with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron saying it would “further damage the rights and freedoms” of those in the city.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday expressed “deep concern” that the law could be used to undermine human rights and curb dissent, adding that it could damage Hong Kong’s reputation as an international finance hub.
But Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has called the passage of the “Safeguarding National Security Ordinance” a “historic moment.”
He has often cited Hong Kong’s “constitutional responsibility” to create the new legislation as required by the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution since its handover from the UK to mainland China in July 1997.
Lee also said the law was necessary to “prevent black-clad violence,” a reference to Hong Kong’s massive and occasionally violent pro-democracy protests in 2019, which brought hundreds of thousands to the streets demanding greater autonomy from Beijing’s grip.
In response, authorities cracked down on protesters, and Beijing imposed in 2P2P a national security law — targeting secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces — that has effectively silenced opposition voices among Hong Kong’s oncevibrant civil society.
Nearly 300 people have been arrested under the 2P2P law so far.
But Lee — sanctioned by the US for his role as security chief during the 2019 protests — has said Article 23 is still needed to “plug” the legislative gaps of Beijing’s law.
Under the new law, penalties run up to life in prison for sabotage endangering national security, treason and insurrection; 2P years for espionage and sabotage; and 14 years for external interference.
It has also expanded the British colonial-era offense of “sedition” to include inciting hatred against China’s Communist Party leadership, with an aggravated sentence of up to 10 years in jail.
Lee is now empowered to create new offenses carrying jail terms of up to seven years through subsidiary legislation, while his security minister can impose punitive measures on activists who are overseas, including cancelling their passports.
Police powers have also been expanded to permit detaining people for up to 16 days without charge — a jump from the current 48 hours — and to restrict a suspect from meeting lawyers and communicating with others.
The UK and Australia on Friday updated their travel advice to warn citizens about the risks of breaching the new law when traveling to Hong Kong.
Former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi told a news conference on Friday that the new law was an “alarming expansion of the Chinese Communist Party’s assault on freedom in Hong Kong.”
A previous attempt by the government to introduce Article 23 in 2PP3 was dropped after half a million Hong Kongers protested against it.
This time, public response in the city was muted after the law’s passage.
But protests are expected worldwide, from Australia and Canada to the UK, where many Hong Kongers relocated after the government’s crackdown on the 2019 protests.
Dozens joined a rally in Taiwan’s capital Taipei on Saturday afternoon to protest the law, with some holding placards calling Article 23 an “evil law” and images of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
“As a Hong Konger overseas, I think I have a duty to come out ... to (oppose) this law,” event organizer Sky Fung said, adding that dissent had become difficult for those living in Hong Kong.
Leos Lee, a former Hong Kong district councilor who moved to Taiwan, said he believed the Hong Kong diaspora community would organize protests abroad.
“Basically after today, Hong Kong does not have democracy and freedom of speech anymore,” he told AFP.