China's embassy hits back against U.S. criticism of Hong Kong's new national security law, urging the U.S. to "respect China's sovereignty."
Beijing dismisses chorus of concern from western governments over punitive new law as slanderChina has accused western governments and the United Nations of slander after they criticised Hong Kong’s new national security law, which was rushed through the city’s pro-Beijing parliament this week.The law, known as Article 23, covers newly defined acts of treason, espionage, theft of state secrets, sedition and foreign interference. Critics said it was ushering in a “new era of authoritarianism”,...
Hong Kong’s homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance has come into effect, four days after the legislation was unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature. Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the new legislation – gazetted midnight on Saturday – targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for […]
China blasted critics of Hong Kong's new national security law on Wednesday, after Western powers and the United Nations said it would further curtail freedoms in the city.Hong Kong, a former colony of Britain before the 1997 handover back to China, on Tuesday passed a security law commonly referred to as Article 23 to punish five crimes after a fast-tracked legislative process.British foreign minister David Cameron said it was a "rushed" process for a law that would "further damage the rights...
Passing of new national security law described as 'very dark day' for civil
The Hong Kong government has condemned Britain’s public service broadcaster over “smearing” the Beijing-imposed security law in an article about the sentencing of 12 Hongkongers convicted of rioting. Published on Saturday, the news piece from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on the sentencing of 12 Hongkongers over the 2019 storming of the city’s legislature, […]
Punitive legislation is already in place. But the territory’s masters are hammering home the messageResidents of Hong Kong could be forgiven for a sense of deja vu. A draconian new national security law (NSL), broad in scope and harsh in penalties, is trampling over basic rights. It first happened four years ago, in response to the extraordinary uprising that saw one in four people take to the streets to defend the region’s autonomy and way of life.Beijing imposed the 2020 law upon the...
European Union joins chorus of criticism of Article 23, which includes harsh new penalties for offences such as insurrection, sedition and espionageThe European Union has sounded the alarm over Hong Kong’s new national security bill, saying it had the potential to “significantly” affect the work of the EU’s office and the territory’s status as a business hub.On Tuesday Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously passed the new bill only two weeks after it was first presented, fast-tracking a major piece of...
The European Union and the United Nations said Hong Kong's new national security bill was deeply worrying and could erode fundamental freedoms in the China-ruled city. "It is alarming that such consequential legislation was rushed through the legislature through an accelerated process, in spite of serious concerns raised about the incompatibility of many of its
Officials in Hong Kong and China this week hailed the passage of a new security law for the city, even as Western governments expressed “alarm” at what the US described as its “vaguely defined provisions.” All 89 lawmakers voted on Tuesday in favour of the bill, which targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, and theft […]
Hong Kong’s legislature unanimously passed sweeping new powers on Tuesday that critics and analysts warned would align the financial hub’s national security laws more closely with those used on the Chinese mainland and deepen an ongoing crackdown on dissent. The lengthy national security bill – the first draft ran to 212 pages – was rushed through the city’s opposition-less Legislative Council with unusual haste at the request of city leader John Lee and debated over just 11 days. Coming into...
Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature is set to pass new security legislation, after the second reading of a proposed domestic security bill resumed earlier than expected. Members of the “all-patriots” legislature threw their weight behind the Safeguarding National Security Bill on Tuesday, when the proposed legislation required under Article 23 of the Basic Law was tabled […]