BREAKING: Hong Kong police make first arrest under new national security law, for carrying independence flag at protest.
A flag raising ceremony is held at the Golden Bauhinia Square to mark the anniversary of the Hong Kong handover to China in Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 1, 2020. Hong Kong marked the 23rd anniversary of its handover to China in 1997, one day after China enacted a national security law that cracks down on protests in the territory.
The law makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs. It was imposed by China after months of anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory last year.Hong Kong’s leader strongly endorsed the new security law China’s central government is imposing on the semi-autonomous territory in her speech marking Wednesday’s anniversary of its handover from colonial Britain.
The law directly targets some of the actions of anti-government protesters last year, which included attacks on government offices and police stations, damage to subway stations, and the shutdown of the city’s international airport. Acts of vandalism against government facilities or public transit can be prosecuted as subversion or terrorism, while anyone taking part in activities deemed as secessionist would also be in violation of the new law.
Under the law, those found guilty of inciting secessionist, subversive, terrorist activities and colluding with foreign forces could face life imprisonment if they are deemed masterminds of such activities. The legislation was mandated under Hong Kong’s local constitution but an earlier attempt to pass it in the city’s legislative body in 2003 was shelved in the face of massive public opposition. Having lost patience, Beijing finally decided to circumvent the Hong Kong legislature and have it passed Tuesday by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament.
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