tirsdag 30. juni 2020

China passes sweeping Hong Kong national security law: report

Beijing has reportedly passed a wide-reaching national security law for Hong Kong, which many fear could be used to override existing legal processes and further erode the city's civil and political freedoms.  Beijing's top lawmaking body, the National People's Congress (NPC), passed the law unanimously on Tuesday morning local time, bypassing Hong Kong's legislature, according to Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK, citing unnamed sources.

Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency previously reported the law would criminalize offenses such as secession, subversion against the central Chinese government, terrorism, and colluding with foreign forces. A draft had not been made public ahead of its passage, meaning the majority of people in Hong Kong have not seen details of a law that will now govern their lives.