What is the National Security Law in Hong Kong? And what makes it so important.

 

Since the China's National People's Congress has decision to create a new national security for Hong Kong, it has received innumerous criticisms both locally by Hong Kong and by international politics. By saying Hong Kong is no longer an “autonomous” state, many countries have expressed their concern, arguing that Hong Kong's legislative council should also be involved in this law-making process.

 

The new National Security Law just passed a few months ago was described to be an "invasive declaration of PRC's dominance over Hong Kong's semi-autonomous territory." What is interesting about the text of this new law is it did not made public until it had already been passed. And by the end of June 30, the Hong Kong government has announced that they formally adopted the law. 

What is the new National Security Law in Hong Kong about?

It is officially known as the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special AdministrativeRegion. Basically, what does this law does is that all "secession", "subversion", "terrorism" and "collusion with foreign forces" will be banned in the name of China's national security. And the maximum penalty for each crime can be up to life imprisonment. In addition, this law also grant the mainland national security agencies the right to establish a formal presence in the city for the first time. 

Riot Police in front of a luxury goods store in Hong Kong

Why is the National Security Law being Criticized?

In the article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, it has clearly stated that Hong Kong’s specialty as a self-administrative region that will “enact laws on its own” for the Region’s security and to protect its sovereignty:

“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organisations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organisations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organisations or bodies.”

However, the introduce of the new National Security Law has clearly threatened the freedom of expression in Hong Kong. In fact, as soon as the law was implicated, a chilling effect has been seen. Anti-establishment leaders have deleted their social media account and in some cases, they fled. Public education system has been reformed, specific curriculum in schools have been instructed to revise. Particular books were being censored due to their content.

In addition, Beijing now has the riht to vet police and prosecutorial appointments and tell how the money will need to be spent to Hong Kong government. And what's the most important thing is, for any future jury trials, Mainland Chinese courts will have to right to take charge over it, potentially ended up within Beijing.  

HKPF recived the order to arrest people who were involved in HK Independence Movement

What are the potential influence to Hong Konger and foreign enterprise?

Any inappropriate comments on social media can lead to individual be charged for crime. Director of Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Zheng Yanxiong will be the sole authority to define where exactly those lines were drawn. Consequently, foreign companies operating in Hong Kong have also taken actions in respond to National Security Law. Some technology companies have announced that they are considering migrating data storage outside of Hong Kong to secure customer’s personal information.

Conclusion

Effectively, the National Security Law has imposed PRC's cirminal system directly onto Hong Kong's common law system. As a result, Hong Kong has lost its One Country, Two Systems' superioty on international trading. In response to these actions, "Trump administration  announced on May 27 that Hong Kong's autonomy had been undermined to the point where it does not continue to warrant treatment under United States laws in the same amnner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997." And not long after it was announced, President Trump removed some of Hong Kong's privileges including its speical customs status. 

Work Cited:

1. "Basic Law - Chapter 2". Hong Kong government. Archivedfrom the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2018.

2. "Anger as China approves Hong Kong security law". BBC News. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.

3. Davidson, Helen (18 June 2020). "China tables draft Hong Kong security law in sign it intends to rush legislation". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2020.

4. Ho, Kelly; Grundy, Tom (30 June 2020). "Joshua Wong's pro-democracy group Demosisto disbands hours after Hong Kong security law passed". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 October 2020.

5. ^ Jump up to:a b C. George Kleeman (2005). "The Proposal to Implement Article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong: A Missed Opportunity for Reconciliation and Reunification Between China and Taiwan". The Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. 23 (3). Retrieved 30 June 2020.

6. ^ Gupta, Sourabh (17 June 2020). "Hong Kong National Security Law". Institute for China-America Studies. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

7. ^ Wong, Yiu-chung (2008). One Country, Two Systems in Crisis: Hong Kong's Transformation since the Handover. Lexington Books. pp. 69–70.

8. 【國安法】調查指66%受訪者支持中央立法 比上次增近1成". 頭條日報. 8 July 2020.

9. "香港市民の保護目指す 超党派の議員連盟が発足へ". NHK. 19 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.