Chinese security plan gets OK
Hong Kong government: Laws no infringement on freedoms
HONG KONG — China officially ratified a plan Thursday to write a national security law for Hong Kong that exerts Beijing’s broader, new control over the semi-autonomous territory to prevent a return of the months of often-violent protests last year.
The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government sought to assure its citizens that the law would not infringe on their freedoms, while the pro-democracy opposition described the move as the end of the core values that set the former British colony apart from the rest of China.
“From now on, Hong Kong is nothing but just another mainland Chinese city,” pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said.
China’s ceremonial legislature, ending a one-week annual session curtailed because of the coronavirus, approved a decision by the ruling Communist Party to impose national security laws on Hong Kong.
The body’s standing committee, a smaller group with decision-making power, is charged with developing the laws against secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong’s affairs. No timetable has been announced, but they could be enacted at one of its next meetings in June and August.
The move marks an end to China’s more low-key approach to Hong Kong over the large-scale protests last year, Cornell University China expert Allen Carlson said.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the decision was welcome because of the difficulty her government faces in passing national security legislation on its own. The city’s constitution requires it to enact such a law, but successive governments have been unable or unwilling to because of opposition.
Lam said in a statement that new laws would “sanction an extremely small minority of criminals who threaten national security” and
“not affect the legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents.”
In a statement, diplomats from the United States, U.K., Canada and Australia reiterated their “deep concern” regarding Beijing’s decision to impose a national security law.
One of the signatories, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, notified Congress on Wednesday that the Trump administration no longer regards Hong Kong as autonomous from mainland China.