The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) have criticised Hong Kong’s new security law that seeks to award life imprisonment for treason and raises sentences for sedition.
EU has warned that the law has the potential to “significantly” affect the EU’s office and territory status as business hub.
The US state department has said it was “alarmed” by the sweeping new law.
The lawmakers in Hong Kong have unanimously approved a new national security law that gives the government sweeping powers to crush dissent in any form. This law is part of the larger political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The legislative council packed Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, packed with Beijing loyalists following an electoral overhaul.
The law will give authorities the ability to prosecute citizens for “colluding with external forces” and charge them with treason, insurrection, espionage, and disclosing state secrets.
The new law mirrors a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub. Hong Kong’s political scene has changed dramatically since the massive 2019 street protests that challenged China’s rule over the semi-autonomous territory, and the imposition of Beijing’s National Security Law.
Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, requires the city to enact a home-grown national security law. A previous attempt in 2003 sparked a massive street protest that drew half a million people, and forced the legislation to be shelved. Such protests against the current bill were absent largely due to the chilling effect of the existing security law.
Both Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the Beijing-imposed law restored stability after the 2019 protests. Officials insist the new security law balances security with safeguarding rights and freedoms. The city government said it’s needed to prevent a recurrence of the protests, and that it will only affect “an extremely small minority” of disloyal residents.
