Hong Kong officials celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the territory’s return to China on Wednesday hours after Beijing’s imposition of a new national security law drew international condemnation.
Executive Director Carrie Lam joined her predecessors and other officials at the edge of the port for a flag-raising ceremony, as the annual march for democracy in the territory was banned for the first time.
In his speech, Lam praised the new law as “the most important development” in the Beijing-Hong Kong relationship since the 1997 handover, and said it is a “necessary and timely” move to restore stability.
He also defended the law as “constitutional, legal, sensible, and reasonable.”
The national security legislation went into effect overnight after being rushed by China’s rubber stamp parliament in record time.
Pro-democracy protesters march during a demonstration near a flag-raising ceremony on the anniversary of the Hong Kong surrender on Wednesday [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
Amid threats of possible arrest, protesters gathered near the ceremony site carrying placards and shouting slogans expressing opposition to the new law, which seeks to punish crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to chain life.
Prohibited protest
Authorities banned the annual civil society rally, citing a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people due to the coronavirus, but many activists pledged to defy the order and march later in the afternoon.
The annual rally is traditionally held to voice complaints about everything from skyrocketing house prices to what many see as Beijing’s increasing invasion of the city’s freedoms.
“We march every year, every July 1, every October 1, and we will continue to march,” said pro-democracy activist Leung Kwok-hung.
On July 1 of last year, hundreds of protesters broke into the city’s legislature to protest a now-ruled bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, and looted the building. The protests continued throughout the year with protesters demanding universal suffrage as promised by the Basic Law or the mini-constitution of the territory.
On Wednesday, Lam praised the new law as “the most important development” in the relationship between Beijing and Hong Kong since the 1997 installment[[[[Kin Cheung / AP]
Beijing said the security law is necessary to deal with separatism and foreign interference, but critics fear the legislation, which was only made public after its passage, will ban dissent and destroy promised autonomy when Hong Kong returned from United Kingdom to China in 1997.
Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said the speed at which the new law was drafted and passed demonstrated “China’s determination to eradicate” Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, which it considers “a major threat” to power. from the central government.
She said China may have lost patience in the past year, after a series of major protests in the semi-autonomous city.
The legislation radically restructures the relationship between Beijing and Hong Kong within the framework called “one country, two systems”, eliminating the legal firewall between the independent judiciary of the city and the courts controlled by the mainland parties.
It allows China to establish a national security agency in the city, with personnel who are not subject to local law in the performance of their duties.
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It prohibits four types of national security crimes: subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
The full text of the law gave three scenarios in which China could take charge of a prosecution: complicated cases of foreign interference, “very serious” cases and when national security faces “serious and realistic threats”.
“Both the national security agency and Hong Kong can request that the case be transferred to mainland China and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate will carry out the prosecution and the trial will be in the Supreme Court,” the law said.
“It doesn’t matter if the violence was used or if the threat of violence was used, the leaders or serious criminals will be sentenced to life in prison or a minimum of 10 years in prison,” he said.
“The Hong Kong government has no jurisdiction over the Hong Kong national security agency and its staff when they are fulfilling the duties provided for in this law,” he added.
The text also specified that those who destroy public facilities and services would be considered subversive. Damaging public transport facilities and arson would constitute acts of “terrorism”. Anyone who participates in secessionist activities, whether organizing or participating, will violate the law regardless of whether violence is used.
The law also said that certain national security cases could be carried out behind closed doors without juries in Hong Kong if they contained state secrets, although the verdict and eventual trials would be made public.
The legislation has generated international condemnation with the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, accusing China of “paranoia” and saying that the law “destroys the autonomy of the territory and one of China’s greatest achievements.”
The introduction of the law also showed that China’s commitment to international treaties, such as the Sino-British Joint Declaration, were “empty words,” added Pompeo.
Al Jazeera’s Adrian Brown, reporting from Hong Kong, said city residents are waking up to a new law on Wednesday, saying they likely like to feel that the new law “is far more far-reaching.” than they imagined. “
“This law was enacted a few minutes before midnight,” he said, adding that many “are still trying to figure out how it will affect their lives.”
“Make no mistake. This is a law that will affect everyone in Hong Kong.”
Police search for a pro-democratic protester on Wednesday during a demonstration on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s move to China in 1997 [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
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