Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” formula enshrined in the 1997 handover of the British colony to China was nixed on Tuesday by China’s Parliament when it passed the controversial National Security Law for Hong Kong that will provide Beijing with enforcement powers to prohibit and punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the special administration region.
President Xi Jinping signed a presidential order promulgating the law after it was approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The law makers had fast tracked the legislation by passing it on the last day of a special three-day session that began on Sunday, 28 June.
With the President’s assent, it comes into effect on 1 July, marking the 23rd anniversary of handing over Hong Kong to China by the British. The new law has been added to Hong Kong’s constitution. Carrie Lam, the city’s Chief Executive, admitted she had not seen a copy of the Bill before its passage.
Bernard Chan, convenor of Hong Kong’s Executive Council, a top policy-making body that advises the city’s Chief Executive, said in an interview, “From every signal we have received so far, the law is going to work within Hong Kong common law system and will cater to the city’s special needs.”
Lam said the law came into effect 11 pm Tuesday night and that the 7.5 million people of Hong Kong had no time to digest the legislation. The law infringes on an arrangement that has made Hong Kong autonomous in many respects. In a message to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Lam urged the international community to respect Hong Kong’s right to safeguard its national security.
She said the new law would not undermine the city’s autonomy or its independent judiciary. Even as the law was passed in Beijing, the People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong held a drill, including exercises to stop suspicious vessels and arrest fugitives, it was reported.
Lam asserted that threats from the USA or other foreign governments to impose sanctions over the new law would not scare Hong Kong and that her government would fully cooperate with any potential countermeasures introduced by the Communist government in Beijing. A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute between June 15 and 18 showed that a majority of respondents were opposed to the new national security regulation.
According to the 2019 Human Freedom Index compiled by Canada’s Fraser Institute, an independent think tank, Hong Kong ranked third, behind New Zealand and Switzerland, but ahead of Canada Australia and Germany, all in the top 10, while Britain (14), the USA (15) and Taiwan (19), lag behind.
Electorally, all of Hong Kong’s district council seats are elected directly, as are more than half the seats in the legislature. The new law has put China on a collision course with Britain, the USA and other Western countries.