China rushed through its controversial national security law in Hong Kong on Tuesday. His detractors, who do not hesitate to speak of an "institutional coup" accuse Beijing of wanting to muzzle the opposition in this autonomous territory. Life imprisonment may be imposed for crimes against national security committed in Hong Kong and Chinese justice will have jurisdiction over the most "serious" of them.
The text gives Chinese leaders the power to suppress any form of "subversion" on the peninsula, through a "national security body" reporting directly to the security organs of the communist regime. The latter may act by bypassing the judicial or legislative bodies of Hong Kong.
One year after protests against Chinese influence began
The promulgation of this historic law comes a year after the start of monster protests in the former British colony against the influence of the central government. "In Hong Kong, we see things akin to acts of terrorism. This is what worries China, they are acts of secession: people carry flags and claim independence for Hong Kong", claims one of the Chinese deputies who has just voted for this law.
Scalded by these events, Beijing will have imposed in a few weeks this law which bypasses the local legislative council and makes fear to the Hong Kong opposition an unprecedented decline in freedoms since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
"Suspects can be detained indefinitely, and without trial"
For the Hong Kong opposition and for several western countries, this law constitutes, on the other hand, an attack on local autonomy and freedoms. "The suspects can be detained indefinitely, and without trial, in secret places of detention ... As in mainland China," worries Joshua Wong, one of the figures of the movement for democracy.
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The European Union "deplored" the adoption of the text on Tuesday. "This law risks seriously undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and having a detrimental effect on the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law," said European Council President Charles Michel. . Anticipating the vote, Washington announced Monday the end of sales of sensitive defense equipment to Hong Kong to prevent "they fall into the hands" of the Chinese army. Beijing on Tuesday promised "reprisals".