HONG KONG — 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.
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.
John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong said the process reflected the city’s “disabled accountability system, weakened by design.” Simon Young, a professor at the University of Hong Kong's law faculty said the legislature did more than “rubber-stamping” the law, noting that officials attended lengthy meetings to clarify and amend the bill. But Young said that in the past lawmakers might have sought experts’ input.Hong Kong’s political scene has changed dramatically since the massive 2019 street protests that challenged China’s rule over the semi-autonomous territory and the imposition of Beijing’s National Security Law.
Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the Beijing-imposed law restored stability after the 2019 protests.
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