Commentary: Article 23 legislation consolidates security foundation of HKSAR's development
People's DailyMar 20
Article 23: Hong Kong Legislature Passes New National Security Law
The Facts
Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo) passed on Tuesday the Safeguarding National Security Bill — otherwise known as Article 23 — a new national security law that some human rights organizations and foreign governments have said would roll back freedoms and silence dissent.
The legislation approved by all 89 lawmakers, including the LegCo president, states that citizens found to have committed treason, insurrection, incitement to mutiny, and sabotage endangering national security in collusion with an external force will see life imprisonment.
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
Hong Kong's security legislation is a further indicator of Beijing's success in ensuring the safety and prosperity of Greater China. While ensuring the protection of personal freedoms, Article 23 will allow Hong Kong to appropriately expand its powers in defense against all those who seek to undermine the region as its flourishing relationship with the central government continues to grow.
Anti-China narrative
Oppression, already permeating all levels of society in Hong Kong, will now only grow stronger and deeper as Beijing continues to clamp down against any potential challenge to its authoritarian rule. While the people of Hong Kong will continue to fight for hope and freedom, history will likely look back at the passing of Article 23 as a dark day for hope, democracy, and human rights.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that Hong Kong will no longer be a Special Administrative Region of China by September 2046, according to the Metaculus prediction community.