The move is most likely to intensify the anti-China protests in the city which is a democratic society.
Hong Kong riot police try to clear away people gathered in the Central district of downtown Hong Kong on May 27, 2020, as the city's legislature debates over a law that bans insulting China's national anthem. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)
After attracting criticism for its undemocratic nature, China has further expanded the scope of its security law for Hong Kong according news reports on Wednesday. The move is most likely to intensify the anti-China protests in the city which is a democratic society.
According to news agency Reuters, the law legislation will not only cover just behaviour or acts that endanger national security, but also activities, local broadcaster RTHK and the South China Morning Post reported.
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“Mainland lawyers who have handled national security cases in the past say this change could bring not just individuals, but also organisations under the scope of the law,” RTHK said.
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The report by Reuters says, the law gives China the authority to curb secession, subversion, terrorism, and foreign interference, something that was observed in pro democracy protests which gripped the city last year.
United States has already expressed its concern over the recent development. US National security advisor Robert O’Brien renewed a warning on Sunday saying US might revoke Hong Kong’s special trading privileges if China enacts the law.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said last week that the proposed law, which China’s rubber-stamp legislature is expected to act on quickly, would be a “death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for Hong Kong.” He said that China’s continued respect for Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and civil liberties was “key to preserving its special status under US law.”
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