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The Chinese parliament, which generally automatically passes government resolutions, passed the new legislation unanimously on Tuesday morning, less than six weeks after its first introduction, sparking waves of anxiety in semi-autonomous Hong Kong and elsewhere.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United Nations human rights watchdog have expressed fear that the law will be used to calm criticism of Beijing. Similar laws in the authoritarian government of mainland China are often applied to suppress any manifestation of disobedience.
The legislation was passed in an unprecedented way, bypassing Hong Kong’s divided parliament. In addition, its specific text has been hidden from 7.5 million. Hong Kong residents.
“The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has formally adopted the National Security Law for Hong Kong today,” DAB, the largest wing of Hong Kong, said in a statement Tuesday, welcoming the legislation.
The Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao newspapers, considered spokesmen for Beijing’s official policies, also confirmed that the law had already been passed. Several other Hong Kong media outlets have followed suit, citing unidentified sources in Beijing.
Although word has been passed that the law was passed, Hong Kong residents are still unaware of its content and the provisions of what could be considered a crime.
During a weekly press conference on Tuesday morning, Hong Kong propaganda leader Carrie Lam declined to comment on whether the law was passed, as well as to discuss its content.
“I do not think it is appropriate for me to comment on any issue related to national security law at this time,” he told reporters.
The end of Hong Kong
“Who was finally accepted?” Figo Chan, leader of the Civil Rights Group, wrote on his Facebook account.
Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement, wrote on Twitter: “This marks the end of Hong Kong, which the world has known so far. Due to its broad powers and unclear laws, the city will become a #slaptapolicinstate. “
The United States cut exports of strategic defense goods to Hong Kong on Monday due to the law.
“We can no longer distinguish between exports of controlled goods to Hong Kong and exports to mainland China,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“We cannot allow these assets to fall into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army, because their main task is to support the dictatorship of the Communist Party,” he said.
Under the “one country, two systems” model agreed when China took control of Hong Kong from the former colonial governor of Great Britain in 1997, the city must guarantee certain freedoms and partial autonomy by 2047, including legislative and judicial independence, and freedom word
This model has helped Hong Kong emerge as a world-class financial center with a credible judicial system and political freedoms that mainland China does not have.
Critics have long accused Beijing of taking steps in recent years to reduce Hong Kong’s special status, but the new law is said to deal a devastating blow to the liberties and autonomy of the city.
A summary of the law released earlier this month by China’s state news agency Xinhua says that Chinese security agencies will be able to openly operate in this semi-autonomous city.
Beijing has also indicated that it will have jurisdiction over some cases. This means removing the legal barrier that has existed since 1997 between the courts controlled by mainland China in Hong Kong and the Communist Party.
In mainland China, national security laws are often used to send criticism of the network regime, especially for vague crimes called “destructive activities”.
Beijing and the Hong Kong government loyal to him reject such allegations.
According to them, these laws will target only a small number of people, will not restrict political liberties in the city, and restore business confidence after protests by activists of historical democracy.
The massive, often violent, protests that rocked Hong Kong for seven months began on June 9 last year, when a million people took to the streets to protest against the now repealed extradition bill that would have allowed the suspects were extradited to China.
Conflicts between police and activists have become routine, as the government has ignored the protesters’ demands. This has severely damaged Hong Kong’s reputation as a stable financial center and has severely opposed society, with a significant number of its members rebelling against the Beijing regime.
Some 9,000 have been detained in recent years. More than 1,700 people have been formally charged. As the arrests continued and the gathering of more than eight people gathered in the city due to a coronavirus outbreak, the pro-democracy movement was quelled, but protests erupted again in May when China announced plans to pass the security law.
On June 4, tens of thousands of Hong Kong people gathered to mark the 31st anniversary of the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests, despite a ban announced by the authorities.
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