What is the new Hong Kong security law and why is it controversial?
The law seems to undermines the freedom that set Hong Kong apart from the rest of China
The Hong Kong Securities Law was adopted on June 30, 2020.. The law is enacted, in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, and the Decision of the National People’s Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, for the purpose of ensuring the resolute, full and faithful implementation of the policy of One Country, Two Systems under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, safeguarding national security, preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for the offences of secession, subversion, organisation and perpetration of terrorist activities, and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security in relation to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, maintaining prosperity and stability of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of the residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The law contains 66 articles, the details of which were kept secret until after it was passed. It criminalises any act of:
Secession: Breaking away from the country ( Article 20,21); Subversion: Undermining the power or authority of the central government.(Article 22,23);
Terrorism: Using violence or intimidation against people.(Article 24-28); and Collusion with foreign or external forces.(Article 29,30)
Hong Kong will establish its own national security commission to enforce the laws with a Beijing-appointed adviser. Hong Kong’s chief executive will have the power to appoint judges to hear national security cases, raising fears about judicial autonomy. Importantly, Beijing will have power over how the law should be interpreted, not any Hong Kong judicial or policy body. If the law conflicts with any Hong Kong law, the Beijing law takes priority. People suspected of breaking the law can be wire-taped and put under surveillance.
Hong Kong – China relations
While Hong Kong is a part of China, for more than 150 years it was actually a British Territory. In the 1800s, Britain and China were at war. Therefore to end the conflict, a peace agreement was struck that gave some of China’s Land and territory including a rocky island off the coast of China which would later become Hong Kong. Over the years, Hong Kong grew under the influence of British and Western culture. The deal was a lease for Britain and the UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1984. A new internationally binding treaty was based around the principle of one country two systems allowing Hong Kong to have it’s own flag, currency, laws and government and remain autonomous for 50 years until 2047, making it a special administrative region of China.
Under British rule, Hong Kong was a capitalist economy with democratic values. Whereas, China became a communist country in 1949. People of Hong Kong also have freedom of assembly, which means they can arrange vigils and mass gatherings and they have been doing the same since 1989 since the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Only about 6 years after the handover, the Chinese government tried to push through the National Security Laws and this would criminalize many of the things which in mainland China are illegal.
This led to more protests including the Umbrella Revolution of 2014. The protests never stopped and one of the things that the protesters wanted and still want is Universal Suffrage which means the right of every citizen to vote and elect their leader. Protests continued into early 2020 and then Covis-19 hit. While protesters were forced to stay home, China’s government unexpectedly announced it will bring new national security laws, ones that didn’t have to go through Hong Kong’s legislature.
Why is the law controversial?
After the implementation and the law coming into force and effect in Hong Kong, it gives the Chinese government powers over the now, semi – autonomous territory that in a way is to crush the pillars of freedom.
China unveiled the full text on the anti – sedition law, targeting the crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with applicable penalties as severe as life imprisonment. The law seems over arching in terms of criminal sets also, in its scope. The law also seems to be fabricated to targeting the activists, and their supporters. The EU Council president, Charles Michel, told reporters the law risked “seriously undermining the high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong” as well as the independence of its judiciary and the rule of law. “We deplore the decision,” he said.
After the implementation of the law, it only brings the territory into realms of terror and targets a particular section in a way mentioned. The law seems to undermines the freedom that set Hong Kong apart from the rest of China and help define its character.
Countries for and against the implementation of the law.
The 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council gave birth to the international response to China’s New National Security law in Hongkong.
However the law seemed to have created a debatable response, resulting in countries supporting and disagreeing to its implementation.
The list of countries supporting the Hong Kong national security law: China, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, UAE, Venezuela, Yemen,and Zimbabwe.
The countries opposing: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
