BEIJING - China on Friday (May 22) said it would establish "enforcement mechanisms" to safeguard national security in Hong Kong and Macau, giving its latest indication that a national security law of some form would be passed in the former British colony.
"We will establish sound legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security in the two special administrative regions, and see that the governments of the two regions fulfil their constitutional responsibilities," Premier Li Keqiang said at the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament.
A draft was submitted to the legislation for deliberation on Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported late morning.
National security risks in the city have become a "prominent problem", including activities that have "harmed the rule of law and threatened national sovereignty, security and development interests", Xinhua cited the document as saying.
Forceful measures based on the law must be taken to prevent, stop and punish such activities, it added.
"We will support Hong Kong and Macau in growing their economies, improving living standards and better integrating their development into China's overall development, and help them maintain long-term prosperity and stability," Mr Li said.
He noted that both territories would be governed by its own people, an indication that Beijing intends to keep local leaders in both cities.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and Macau chief executive Ho Iat-seng were in the audience during Mr Li's speech, seated next to each other on a dias behind the podium, nodding as he mentioned both regions.
When announcing the item's addition to the parliamentary agenda on Thursday, NPC spokesman Zhang Yesui said: "National security is (the) bedrock underpinning the stability of the country. Safeguarding national security serves the fundamental interest of all Chinese, our Hong Kong compatriots included."
Hong Kong protests
The move by China's top law-making body would ban the kind of protests that rocked Hong Kong last year. It has taken the legislation's passage out of the hands of the territory's own government, which has been unable to quell the unrest.
It is also an attempt to break a 17-year impasse - the last time the territory's government tried to pass the law in 2003, it brought half a million onto the streets in protest, leading to the then government shelving its plans.
Since Hong Kong's return to China from British rule, it has been governed under the "one country, two systems" principle, guaranteeing a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years. This includes freedoms unseen in the mainland, such as an independent judiciary, a separate legislature, and free speech.
But there are concerns that these freedoms have been gradually been eroded in recent years.
An attempt at passing a controversial extradition bill last year - which would have allowed fugitives to be handed over to mainland China - triggered protests that brought millions onto the streets and deeply divided the city. The bill was eventually rescinded.
While there are fears that Beijing's latest move might spark fresh protests in the city, the international reaction could be far more muted, said China watcher Bill Bishop.
"The US may revoke some of the special treatment it gives Hong Kong, but Xi and the Party Centre may believe they can act with near impunity, especially now when most countries who would oppose this move are distracted and weakened by the pandemic," he wrote in the latest issue of his Sinocism newsletter.
This is a devastating blow to the One Country, Two Systems framework, which was "already in tatters", said historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom, author of Vigil: Hong Kong On The Brink.
"I think it is safe to say that there will be renewed protests, but it would be foolish, given both the speed with which the screws are tightening on the city and the creativity as well as resilience protesters have shown over the years, to predict just what form expressions of discontent will take (and) can take," he said.
Former Portuguese colony Macau is governed under a similar system but has often been held up as a success story of "one country, two systems".
The gaming hub managed to pass a national security law in 2009, which prohibits and punishes acts of "treason, secession, and subversion" against the central government, as well as "preparatory acts" leading to any of the three acts.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vYXNpYS9lYXN0LWFzaWEvbnBjLTIwMjAtcHJlbWllci1saS1rZXFpYW5nLXNheXMtY2hpbmEtdG8tZXN0YWJsaXNoLWVuZm9yY2VtZW50LW1lY2hhbmlzbXMtaW4taG9uZ9IBAA?oc=5
2020-05-22 03:42:54Z
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