Beijing: China officially has the broad power to quash unrest in Hong Kong, as the country’s legislature nearly unanimously approved a plan to suppress subversion, secession, terrorism and seemingly any acts that might threaten national security in the semi-autonomous city. As Beijing hashes out the specifics of the national security legislation in the coming weeks, the final rules will help determine the fate of Hong Kong, including how much of the city’s autonomy will be preserved or how much Beijing will tighten its grip.
Early signals from Chinese authorities point to a crackdown once the law takes effect, which is expected by September. Activist groups could be banned. Courts could impose long jail sentences for national security violations. China’s feared security agencies could operate openly in the city.
Even Hong Kong’s chief executive this week appeared to hint that certain civil liberties might not be an enduring feature of Hong Kong life. “We are a very free society, so for the time being, people have the freedom to say whatever they want to say,” said Carrie Lam, noting, “Rights and freedoms are not absolute.”
The prospect of a national security law has prompted an immediate pushback in Hong Kong, where protesters are once again taking to the streets. The global community, too, has warned against infringing on the city’s civil liberties. The UK, the US, Australia and Canada scolded China for imposing a new security law that they said would threaten freedom and breach a 1984 Sino-British agreement on the autonomy of the former colony. “We are also extremely concerned that this action will exacerbate the existing deep divisions in Hong Kong society,” they said in a joint statement.
China’s premier, Li Keqiang, tried to strike an optimistic note about the national security law, saying that it would provide for the “steady implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’” political framework that has enshrined Hong Kong’s relative autonomy since the territory was reclaimed by China in 1997. The rules, the premier said at the conclusion of the annual session of the legislature, the National People’s Congress, would protect “Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.” Li also refrained from accusing the US of any interference in Hong Kong affairs. But just as he was talking, the Hong Kong office of China’s foreign ministry warned of “strong countermeasures” against the US should it proceed - echoing denunciations by prominent Chinese commentators.
