Hong Kong will approve its own security law almost thirty years too late. The government has sent a 110-page document to the Legco, or Parliament, for public consultation. The process seems fast. “As soon as possible,” declared John Lee, the former colony’s chief executive, justifying this with still-latent external threats and old constitutional authority. “Why now? We can’t wait. I’ve already said this clearly. We can’t afford to wait. We’ve waited 26 years,” he added.
The development of the law is contained in Article 23 of the Basic Law, the mini-Constitution governing relations between the island and the mainland, adopted when the former colony returned to the homeland in 1997. resort. Every time the island government announces that it will be processed, popular resistance. A demonstration attended by half a million people in 2003 convinced the former colony’s government that it was better to put it back in the drawer, despite numerous disappointments in Beijing. In any case, the social calm of those years did not make this necessary. But violent protests in 2019 changed the picture. Beijing despaired that Hong Kong would be able to rein them in, and after a difficult year, drafted a Security Law in its parliament and urgently sent it to the island. Inclusion of crimes such as separation, destructiveness or terrorism with penalties reaching life imprisonment They suppressed protests, laminated opposition, and imprisoned or exiled activist leaders.
Five new crimes
In this context, Hong Kong, no longer afraid of social unrest, began to fulfill its old commitment. There haven’t been any safety laws for over twenty years, and soon there will be two. A new one is added five crimes: betrayal, espionage, subversive activities endangering national security and foreign intervention. Experts assure that it will not only complement the previous one, but also indicate vague concepts such as: espionage anyone state secrets. It will also modernize the jargon of colonial legislation and take into account assumptions about current events. And it will resolve the legal confusion that often slows down national security-related processes. This has delayed the trial of famed press mogul Jimmy Lai, accused of conspiring with foreign agents, for more than a year.
“Foreign agents and independence advocates are still hidden in our society,” Lee said. It is true that leaders in these protests were seen together with foreign political representatives, especially Americans, but their real driving force was disappointment citizens due to what they perceive as an increasing erosion of their ecosystem of freedom.
The chief executive promised this Tuesday that the new law will protect all rights, including the rights of assembly, press and expression, but pointed out that every right has its limits. The document submitted to the parliament states that Hong Kong’s laws comply with international standards and includes similar regulations. United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada anyone Australia.
The law sent from Beijing is still viewed differently by the fragmented Hong Kong society. For some, this calmed the region and ended the crisis that had bled one of Asia’s main financial capitals. For some, it buried the “one country, two systems” formula. It is certain that the new law will create the same divisions.