Hong Kong lawmakers have fast-tracked and passed a new security law, expanding on the already vague, draconian and wide-ranging penalties that have silenced almost all forms of public dissent and transformed institutions in the Asian financial hub.On Tuesday, the city’s legislature, stacked with pro-Beijing lawmakers, passed a sweeping package of laws targeting treason, espionage, theft of state secrets, sedition and foreign interference, with sentences of up to life imprisonment.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to Chinese control in 1997 under a framework known as “one country, two systems” that granted it some autonomy, including a thriving civil society, independent press and a business environment free from government interference.
security law, it has met little resistance. During a second reading of the draft legislation on Tuesday, lawmakers pledged their support for the measure one after another., “even at the cost of having her body smashed into pieces.” Another lawmaker, Dennis Leung, said the law was the “greatest blessing” for Hong Kongers.
Still, some groups have registered their opposition. Business and legal groups say the law, in its vagueness, will detract from the city’s appeal as a financial hub safe for investment.
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