China to introduce HK security law

beijing — China is set to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong after last year’s often violent pro-democracy unrest that plunged the city into its deepest turmoil since it returned to Beijing rule in 1997, a Chinese official said.

The statement confirmed what three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, potentially sparking fresh anti-China protests in the freewheeling former British colony, which enjoys many freedoms not allowed on the mainland.

Pro-democracy demonstrators have for years strongly opposed the idea of national security laws, arguing they could erode the city’s high degree of autonomy, guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula put in place when it returned to Chinese rule.

“In light of the new circumstances and need, the National People’s Congress (NPC) is exercising its constitutional power” to establish a new legal framework and enforcement mechanism to safeguard national security in Hong Kong, Zhang Yesui, the spokesman for the legislature, said. He was speaking at a late night briefing on the eve of the start of China’s annual parliamentary session. —