Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approve another law giving government more power to curb dissent

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approved a new national security law Tuesday that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The legislature passed the Safeguarding National Security Bill during a special session. The law will expand authorities’ ability to prosecute citizens for offenses including “colluding with external forces” to commit illegal acts as well as charge them with treason, insurrection, espionage, and disclosing state secrets, among others.

It comes on top of a similar security law Beijing imposed in 2020, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub. Critics worry the new law will further erode civil liberties that Beijing promised to preserve for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, packed with Beijing loyalists following an electoral overhaul, rushed the law through to approval. Since the bill was unveiled on March 8, a committee held daily meetings for a week, following an appeal by Hong Kong leader John Lee to push the law through “at full speed.” After the vote, Lee said that the law would take effect Saturday.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-china-legislative-council-national-security-law-37e1aca2daef8a4f9f998f389ff3d7f5