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.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.
“For those who care about accountable government, the process is disappointing, but not surprising, given the centrally-imposed changes since 2020,” Burns said. Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, requires the city to enact a home-grown national security law. A previous attempt in 2003 sparked a massive street protest that drew half a million people and forced the legislation, locally known as Article 23, to be shelved. Such protests against the current bill were absent largely due to the chilling effect of the existing security law.
Observers are closely watching to see if authorities will extend enforcement to other professional sectors and how it will affect Hong Kongers' liberties.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, denounced the accelerated adoption of the bill as “a regressive step for the protection of human rights in Hong Kong.”
Rep. Chris Smith and Sen. Jeff Merkley, who lead a congressional panel on China, urged the Biden administration to sanction Hong Kong officials over the new legislation, which they said “further restricts fundamental freedom and strips due process rights, making Hong Kong less safe for residents and U.S. business.”
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: BurnabyNOW_News - 🏆 14. / 77 Read more »
Source: SooToday - 🏆 8. / 85 Read more »
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »