Hong Kong’s new national security law, imposed by China yesterday and set to take effect hours later, is apparently intended to restore “prosperity” and “stability” in a city rocked by months of protests. It criminalizes a wide range of actions, and is written vaguely enough that any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party can be considered a violation of the law.
The new law is also expansive in another unprecedented way, even by the standards of China’s opaque legal system: it covers not only Hong Kong residents, but also anyone living abroad. This means that foreigners, the Hong Kong Diaspora and Hong Kongers study or work abroad.
The new law “affirms extraterritorial jurisdiction over every person on the planet,” wrote Donald Clarke, a law professor at George Washington University. Alarmingly, the law is even broader in scope than mainland Chinese criminal law, which only holds an alien liable for a crime committed outside of China if the effect of that crime occurs in China. Hong Kong’s national security law has no such limitation, Clarke explained. “If you’ve ever said anything that might offend the [Chinese] or the Hong Kong authorities, stay out of Hong Kong. “
In a travel advisory, Canada is already warning its citizens of a “greater risk of arbitrary arrest and” possible extradition to mainland China. “Two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were recently charged with espionage that he had been Detained in China since 2018, apparently in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in Vancouver, the UK also noted a “higher risk of arrest and deportation for a non-permanent resident” in its latest travel advisory to Hong Kong.
Eric Cheung, professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, said that (link in Chinese) “the 8 billion people on Earth should closely study Hong Kong’s national security law,” so they don’t get carried away by law and repent.
Another aspect of the law that concerns foreigners and foreign organizations operating in Hong Kong is article 54, which authorizes the state to “take the necessary steps” to intensify its scrutiny of international NGOs and media organizations. This, together with the extensive criminalization of the “collusion with foreign forces” law, augurs an offensive against press freedom and the harassment of NGOs related to the situation on the continent.
The national security law was drafted by Beijing without any involvement from the Hong Kong government, which did not even see the full text of the law until the day of its approval. In general, it criminalizes four crimes: secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign collusion. But according to mainland Chinese jurisprudence, the definition of these crimes is so vague and subjective that it is almost infinitely applicable, and what was once a protected speech in Hong Kong can now be prosecuted as crimes leading to life imprisonment. .
In a statement, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States “will not stand idly by while China swallows Hong Kong in its authoritarian jaws.” In the run-up to passing the national security law, the United States had already imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and halted exports of defense and sensitive technologies to Hong Kong. Pompeo’s latest statement suggests new punitive measures to come, a move some Hong Kong protesters hope will make Beijing pay for its crackdown on the city.
Under the law, the central government of Beijing will also be authorized for the first time to officially establish a security office in Hong Kong and will have jurisdiction over cases related to national security. Mainland Chinese security officers operating in Hong Kong have extensive investigative powers and are not subject to Hong Kong law if they carry out “official duties”. Defendants in cases overseen by this mainland security office may also be extradited to China, where their right to a fair trial is not guaranteed.
