With Unusual Speed, Hong Kong Pushes Strict New Security Law
New York TimesMar 08
Hong Kong Fast-Tracks Tough New National Security Law
The Facts
A bills committee in Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo) began to assess Friday the full draft of new national security legislation that threatens stiffer penalties for newly listed crimes, with extra-full day sessions scheduled for the weekend to expedite the process.
Provisions include life in prison for treason and increased punishments for collusion with espionage, external forces, sedition, and state secrets. It also allows police to detain suspects for two weeks before charging them.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
Hong Kong authorities, under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, have pushed this new security law at an unprecedented pace — and with little regard to public submissions — to further crack down on dissent in the once autonomous and democratic financial center. Yet again, Beijing's puppet regime is threatening freedoms and rights in Hong Kong.
Pro-China narrative
After a long wait that included taking into consideration public submissions to the bill, Hong Kong authorities have finally tabled this much-needed legislation. Despite Western sources claiming the opposite, the fact is that these Article 23 laws meet all applicable international conventions and standards as well as human rights protections and procedural safeguards.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Hong Kong will stop being a Special Administrative Region of China by September 2046, according to the Metaculus prediction community.