Hong Kong begins public consultation to implement domestic national security law

Public consultation began in Hong Kong on Tuesday regarding the enactment of its own national security law, initiating a process aimed at implementing legislation that has long been met with resistance from residents concerned about the potential infringement on their civil liberties. In 2020, Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, triggering a crackdown on dissent. This crackdown has resulted in the arrest, silencing, or exile of many prominent pro-democracy activists in the city. Additionally, numerous civil society groups have been disbanded, and outspoken media outlets such as Apple Daily and Stand News have been compelled to cease operations. Both the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have praised the law for restoring stability in the wake of the extensive pro-democracy protests of 2019. Nevertheless, Hong Kong’s Basic Law, its mini-constitution, mandates the enactment of its own national security law. “I want to say that legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law is something that we need to do and have to do as soon as possible because it is our constitutional responsibility,” Associated Press quoted city leader John Lee as saying during a news conference. “It’s been over 26 years since the reunification, and we still haven’t completed this duty,” added Lee. He said other countries, including the US, UK, and Singapore, have similar laws to safeguard security and Hong Kong would draw references from them. The public consultation period began Tuesday and will end 28 February. Hong Kong previously was unable or unwilling to enact the law. In 2003, an attempt to push through the legislation sparked street protests with 500,000 demonstrators expressing concern it would erode civil liberties. The legislation was shelved. Critics worry authorities will use a domestic national security law as another tool to crack down on dissidents, further eroding freedoms that were promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Officials have said the painful experiences of the 2019 protests demonstrated that national security risks are real. The Beijing-imposed security law in 2020 criminalises secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign forces to intervene in the city’s affairs as well as terrorism, but has not covered all the offenses authorities wanted to target. Under Hong Kong’s constitution, the city is required to enact laws on its own to prohibit seven types of acts: treason, secession, sedition, subversion against China’s central government, theft of state secrets, foreign political organizations conducting political activities in the city and local political organisations establishing ties with foreign political groups. With inputs from agencies