BEIJING – China’s top lawmaking body on Tuesday (June 30) passed a Hong Kong national security law that will ban subversion and secession, a senior adviser to Beijing on Hong Kong said.
“I have been told that the law was passed unanimously, all 162 votes,” Professor Lau Siu-kai told The Straits Times.
That all 162 members of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee voted in favour of the law shows China’s strong will to close the legal loophole in Hong Kong, he said.
Since it was first proposed at the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings late last month, the law has gone through a truncated legislative process, passing in just over 40 days.
The process has bypassed Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, the local legislature, and the law will be inserted into the city’s mini Constitution, the Basic law.
The national security law will be a “new start” for Hong Kong, the nationalistic Global Times tabloid wrote in an editorial, but there will still be struggles.
“Chinese society, including Hong Kong society, must be prepared to support the enforcement of the law in the city after it is passed, to punish a few diehards who have been committed to jeopardising national security, and to fight some tough battles against US interference in Hong Kong, to truly establish a line of defence on national security there,” it wrote.
A new national security agency, reporting directly to Beijing, will be set up under the ambit of the new law, while a national security committee chaired by the Hong Kong Chief Executive will be set up to implement the law.
But the legislation’s passage has been met with strong resistance by Western governments and the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, who say it represents an end of the One Country, Two Systems principle that has governed the city since its return to China in 1997.
The United States has said it will end Hong Kong’s special trading status, which means the territory will be subjected to the same tariffs as mainland China.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that this will have minimal impact on the city.
According to details of a draft released two weeks ago, the law will ban secession, subversion, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces to harm national security.
Beijing has been infuriated by pro-democracy protests that have rocked the city for nearly a year, insisting it is the work of foreign forces.
Hong Kongers and protest organisers say the protests, which have often resulted in violent street battles between demonstrators and police, is a manifestation of the simmering anger at the government.
Analysts have said the law is likely to come into effect on July 1, the anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, and traditionally a day of anti-government protests.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHA6Ly93d3cuc3RyYWl0c3RpbWVzLmNvbS9hc2lhL2Vhc3QtYXNpYS9iZWlqaW5nLXBhc3Nlcy1ob25nLWtvbmctbmF0aW9uYWwtc2VjdXJpdHktbGF3LWdvdmVybm1lbnQtYWR2aXNlctIBAA?oc=5
2020-06-30 04:43:52Z
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