Security laws a ‘death knell’ for Hong Kong

Nearly 200 political figures from around the world — including 20 Australians — have decried plans for national security laws in Hong Kong.

International tensions are growing over the proposal to set up Chinese government intelligence bases in the territory. Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has said it could be similar to the colonial-era Special Branch.

The US government called the law a “death knell” for the city’s autonomy.

It comes after China’s parliament, the National People’s

Congress, announced a draft decision on “establishing and improving a legal system and enforcement mechanism for Hong Kong to safeguard national security”.

In a joint statement organised by the former Hong Kong governor Christopher Patten and former British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind, 186 politicians across the globe said the proposed laws are a “comprehensive assault on the city’s autonomy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms” and a “flagrant breach” of the Chinese-British Joint Declaration that returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.

“If the international community cannot trust Beijing to keep its word when it comes to Hong Kong, people will be reluctant to take its word on other matters,” they wrote.

The letter was also signed by 20 Australian politicians — nine MPs and 11 Senators.

US officials have said the Chinese legislation would be bad for both Hong Kong’s and China’s economies and could jeopardise the territory’s special status in US law.

US signatories included both Republicans and Democrats, while 44 members of Britain’s House of Commons and eight members of its House of Lords also signed the statement, alongside other figures from across Europe, Asia and North America.

And while China’s government has dismissed other countries’ complaints as meddling, Mr Leung’s comments could give weight to concern among some Hong Kongers and other governments that the legislation will herald a new era of political surveillance and law enforcement controlled from the mainland.

“There is a possibility … of the central people’s government authorising Hong Kong law enforcement bodies, such as the police, to enforce the law,” Mr Leung said.

He noted that the British had a Special Branch in Hong Kong to deal with national security threats, dismantled before Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

“All jurisdictions in the world, including the ones in the West, have laws that protect national security … we don’t,” Mr Leung, now a vice chairman of the influential Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said.