Conflicts & War

Hong Kong begins campaign to strengthen national security laws

Hong Kong, Jan 30 (EFE).- Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced Tuesday his plan to enact a security law this year which would expand its legal powers to quell dissent following 2019’s pro-democracy protests.

Along with Justice Secretary Paul Lam and the Security Secretary Chris Tang, the Hong Kong leader spoke Tuesday morning at the central government offices about the law’s consultation period, which will end on Feb. 28.

“This legislation is necessary and must be implemented as soon as possible. This is a constitutional responsibility that remains unfinished even after more than 20 years since the city returned to the homeland,” John Lee said, according to the Hong Kong Free Press newspaper.

Since the return of Hong Kong to China by the British government in 1997, the territory has been governed under the “one country, two systems” principle, which separates the legal and judicial structures of the mainland.

Under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, the former colony is enacts its own law to address seven security-related crimes, including treason, theft of state secrets and espionage.

The government spoke of the massive 2019 protests as “the Hong Kong version of a color revolution” that revealed the “need to safeguard national security,” and added that numerous countries – such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom or Canada – have enacted laws to protect their safety.

The Hong Kong leader spoke about the presence of foreign agents and independence advocates in the city, and “of a possible increase in unrest.”

“Although society as a whole seems calm and safe, we must be alert to possible sabotage and undercurrents that seek to cause problems, particularly certain pro-independence ideas that remain ingrained in the minds of some Hong Kongers,” Lee said.

This new text is independent of the national security law imposed by Beijing, approved in June 2020 after months of protests and riots in favor of democracy, in which secession, subversion, collusion with foreigners are classified as crimes and terrorism.

There was an attempt to enact this same regulation in 2003, but it was put on hold after a mobilization attended by an estimated hundreds of thousands of residents.

However, authorities again included the regulatory issue on their agenda, after the promulgation of the national security law, stating it would remedy the gaps in the regulations imposed by Beijing concerning the protection of the semi-autonomous territory.

The public consultation period was to have begun in 2021, but, according to officials, it was paralyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a report published Tuesday by the organization Human Rights Now, after the promulgation of the National Security Law more than three years ago “some 250 activists and critics of the government have been detained, more than 150 prosecuted and all those accused in trials already concluded have been declared guilty.”

Likewise, hundreds of civil society organizations and countless activists have ended their activities or left the city, including political groups, NGOs, unions, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and media workers. EFE

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