lørdag 30. mai 2020

Hong Kong national security law: all eyes on the US, but Beijing holds all the cards

China’s decision to impose the national security law directly on Hong Kong, passed by the annual session of the  National People’s Congress (NPC) on Thursday, has once again plunged the city into deep turmoil and sparked a renewed backlash from the international community.

The timing of the move may appear sudden but it is not entirely unexpected. It has been in the works for months after the anti-Beijing and anti-government protests which started in June threw the city into chaos for the latter half of last year. More than anything, these protests heightened fears among Chinese leaders that Beijing was losing control over the once-freewheeling city, 23 years after it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.