HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong believes he will be a “primary target” of the Beijing movement to impose national security legislation on the Chinese-ruled city, which critics say will crush its coveted freedoms.
The law aims to address separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, although it is not clear what activities would constitute such crimes and what would be the punishment.
Wong has mustered support for the pro-democracy movement abroad, meeting with politicians from the United States, Europe and elsewhere, sparking the ire of Beijing, which he says is a “black hand” of foreign forces.
“I will probably be the primary target of the new law. But what makes me fear is not my possible imprisonment, but the bleak fact that the new law will be a threat to the future of the city and not just to my personal life, “Wong told Reuters.
“Journalists, human rights groups, NGOs and expatriates may be victims of the new law, as all dissident voices can be accused of inciting subversion, such as the situation in China.”
The bill has alarmed foreign governments and Hong Kong democracy activists, concerned that Beijing is eroding the high degree of autonomy accorded to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
China says the national security law will focus only on a small group of troublemakers and that people who abide by the law have no reason to worry.
China’s top decision-making body has scheduled a meeting for June 28-30, and the law is expected to pave the way for the biggest change in the city’s lifestyle since its delivery in 1997. , is enacted at that time.
One of the world’s most recognized faces in the Hong Kong democracy movement, 23-year-old Wong began his activism during high school when he led a hunger strike against a national education system and later became one of the protest leaders for the pro-democracy umbrella movement 2014.
“I call on the world to support Hong Kong and urge China to withdraw this evil law,” said Wong.
Pak Yiu’s Reports; Written by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael Perry
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