• Asia.China may punish those who violate the new National Security Law in Hong Kong with life imprisonment
  • Asia.Hong Kong: a year of protests against China

Twenty-three years ago, past midnight on July 1, 1997, a British royal family yacht set sail from Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. On board was the Prince of Wales and Chris Patten, the last governor of a colony that had gone from being an island of weighers to one of the most important financial centers in the world , and that had just joined the People's Republic of China as a Region Special Administrative.

The transfer of sovereignty was agreed in 1984 by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. So there was much doubt as to whether China was going to be able to respect Hong Kong's degree of autonomy - its own legal system, political parties, and rights including freedom of expression and assembly - as well as the principle known as' one country, two systems' over the agreed five decades. Years before Hong Kong passed into Chinese rule, many citizens feared that their city would end earlier than planned, absorbed in every way by Beijing.

"Hong Kong people feel caught between an impending Chinese homeland they cannot change and an imperial homeland that is receding, which is betraying them by removing the welcome mat for those who want to flee. London has made it clear that having a British passport from Hong Kong is not good enough to enter Britain, "wrote Margaret Scott, a journalist for the New York Times, in a 1989 chronicle that is not so far away if you look at current events.

Last night, just an hour before 23 years since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule, a new national security law went into effect in Hong Kong. In Beijing they had cooked it in secret since it was approved without the inhabitants of the city being able to previously digest the harsh legislation that was coming upon them.

Today, the first day of Hong Kong's national security law, the Police have reported that they have already made 30 arrests since the regulation came into force last night; some of them motivated by the fact of carrying a flag in favor of independence. Hundreds of protesters have been gathering in the central areas of the city. The classic July 1 protest, motivated today more than ever by the Beijing onslaught, was banned by the authorities. Based on the new law, anyone carrying a banner deemed separatist or subversive will be arrested. And you can even be sentenced to life in prison.

China argues that this new law will not erode the city's democratic freedoms. Something not shared by the millions of Hong Kong people who since June 2019 have stood up to the authoritarianism of the Asian giant in the streets to maintain their system of semi-liberties that they now see in danger. This morning, in the commercial core of Causeway Bay, residents have found police officers holding up purple signs warning citizens that if they go out to demonstrate they could be arrested for secession or subversion under a new national security law to the that we can do an autopsy from its main points.

Autopsy of the controversial Security Law

The document published last night in the Hong Kong BOE consists of six chapters and 66 articles. Mainly, it lists the four categories of crimes: secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security. Several city lawyers have expressed that the wording of the law is "very broad and flexible, subject to the interpretations of the authorities." Although at the beginning of the text, in Article 4, it is stated that the "protection of national security must respect and protect the human rights enjoyed by residents with respect to freedom of expression, press, publication, association, assembly, procession and manifestation".

One of the main innovations is that the maximum penalty for each crime is life imprisonment. For example: clauses 20 (secession), clause 22 (subversion), clause 24 (terrorism) and clause 29 (collusion with foreign forces) provide for a minimum of three years and the maximum of life imprisonment for serious cases. "Anyone who engages in activities deemed a subversion of state power - anyone who interferes with, seriously obstructs, or destroys the functions or facilities of the governments of China or Hong Kong - could receive a prison sentence of between 3 and 10 years, while anyone who plans these activities will receive a life sentence, "reads the document.

A point that city law experts such as Eric Cheung, professor at the University of Hong Kong and lawyer Antony Daparin, consider is intended to punish the activities of the protesters. "It seems specifically designed to capture many of the activities that took place during last year's protests, both by radical protesters and by numerous moderates," says Antony. In the former colony many now wonder if any criticism of China could be considered as subversion.

The text also gives three scenarios in which China could take charge of a prosecution: complicated cases of foreign interference, "very serious" cases and when national security faces "serious and realistic threats". Suspects may be extradited to Mainland China in cases involving "complicated situations of interference by foreign forces; cases in which the local government cannot effectively enforce the law and those in which national security is under serious and realistic threats" .

These situations will be evaluated by a national security office ("Details about his work will not be released, and decisions are not subject to judicial review," says Article 14) that will be installed in the city. Articles 55 and 57 indicate that in some cases detainees based on this law will be prosecuted and heard in Mainland China. Something that for many means that the Chinese authorities will be able to arrest the pro-democracy activists and take them to Beijing.

The law states that "those who ask foreign countries to sanction, block or take other hostile measures against Hong Kong or China could be guilty of colluding foreign forces." And he clarifies that the "arson and vandalism of public transport with the intention of intimidating the Hong Kong government or the Chinese government for political purposes will constitute acts of terrorism" , referring to the scenes carried out by some protesters during the 2019 protests .

Regarding trials, they can be carried out in secret , without a jury, if deemed necessary for security reasons. In addition, the Police will be able to access wiretaps without the approval of a judge, only needing the permission of the head of the local Executive, Carrie Lam. "I urge the international community to respect our country's right to safeguard national security and the aspirations of the Hong Kong people for stability and harmony," Lam said yesterday in response to all the international criticism that the new law imposed by Beijing.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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AsiaChina may punish those who violate the new National Security Law in Hong Kong with life imprisonment

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