New Delhi: In a bid to stifle street protests across Hong Kong over the past few months seeking full democracy, mainland China has gone ahead and pushed a new controversial legislation called the National Security Law. The new legislation criminalises 'any act of secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces’. There are widespread fears that civil liberties and political freedoms will now be crushed further in the semi-autonomous territory under the new security law by an authoritarian regime that is already engaged in aggression and expansion from Taiwan to South and East China Sea the Line of Actual Control with India. In the past year alone more than 9000 activists and leaders have reportedly been arrested for seeking international attention on ongoing unrest.
There has been widespread international condemnation of the law over the past few weeks but China rejected them all as interference in its internal affairs. Today morning according to reports the Standing Committee of the National Peoples’ Congress in Beijing has unanimously passed the ‘anti-sedition law’ and it will now be added to Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
This has prompted a new round of tensions amid worsened ties between the United States and Hong Kong with the State Department announcing that Beijing’s step has prompted the Donald Trump government ‘to retool its relationship with the territory’. America has called Beijing’s decision a violation of its own commitments under the U.N.-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration. “If China wants to regain the trust of Hong Kongers and the international community, it should honor the promises it made to the Hong Kong people and to the United Kingdom in the U.N.-registered 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Monday night. The UK and Taiwan have earlier said that they would help activists and to democracy protesters in gaining asylum or residency in the wake of the crackdown expected with the implementation of the new Law.
Why Did People Take To The Streets In Hong Kong?
The Extradition Bill first introduced in June of last year triggered spontaneous protests with nearly a million people out on the streets opposing the proposed legislation that sought to deport 'fugitives' to mainland China. This was perceived as a direct onslaught on the judicial independence of Hong Kong promised under the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework. The bill was later withdrawn in September but the social unrest continued. The leaderless protest movement also got a shot in the arm with pro-democracy leaders winning a landslide 17 of the 18 local councils that polled in November. Beijing had touted pro-democracy protests that sparked off in June 2019 and were fuelled further with the introduction of the draft National Security legislation in May this year as ‘embodying acts of subversion with elements calling for secession’ and the alleged involvement of ‘foreign forces’ in incitement of violence.
What Were The Demands Of The Protestors?
People in Hong Kong took to unprecedented protests to demand that their rights not be infringed upon by the mainland. They said No to the National Security Law which was garbed as a tool to fight terrorism. They wanted full democratic rights to allow the entire population to choose its own Chief Executive. Protestors also demanded the settings up of a committee for an independent probe into allegations of police brutality against civilian demonstrators. Secession from the mainland, however, was not a majority demand. An official text of the New Security Law is still awaited by the public but reports suggest it also allows the mainland other powers such as overseeing education about national security in Hong Kong schools. The enforcement of the law will have to be carried out by the Hong Kong government but the Xi regime can overturn Hong Kong authorities in some cases.
'One Country, Two Systems'
An erstwhile British colony, Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ arrangement with special rights and autonomy. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has its own judiciary and a legal system separate from mainland China that allows rights including freedom of assembly and speech. Hong Kong is governed by the Basic Law that is like a mini Constitution with its own set of rules including on national security. In the more than two decades since the handover, Hong Kong has seen the free press, independent courts and legislature not enjoyed under the Communist Party regime across the border in mainland China.
The Extradition Bill was seen as an attempt by an authoritarian Xi Jinping and his Communist Party to undermine the judicial independence of the administrative region and also pose a direct threat to dissidents criticising decisions taken by Beijing. But now the National Security Law is China’s way of signalling defiance to opposition to the move by world powers, importantly the US. Incidentally the new law now comes into effect before the anniversary on Wednesday, which marks the handover of the territory from Britain to China.
Why and How Has the US Retaliated?
As an international city, Hong Kong has close investment ties with several countries including India and America. The United States granted special status in 1992 under the Hong Kong Policy Act. The legislation promised unique treatment to Hong Kong by the US as long as its unique character was maintained under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework. With China bulldozing the new law, the Trump administration has hit back by ending exports of sensitive U.S.-origin defense equipment and announcing it will take steps toward imposing the same restrictions on U.S. defense and dual-use technologies to Hong Kong as it does for China. "The United States is forced to take this action to protect U.S. national security. We can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong Kong or to mainland China. We cannot risk these items falling into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army, whose primary purpose is to uphold the dictatorship of the CCP by any means necessary," said Mike Pompeo on Monday.
China has threatened to restrict visas for American citizens adding to tensions in bilateral ties passing through the worst phase in several decades including a mini trade war. "Our actions target the regime, not the Chinese people. But given Beijing now treats Hong Kong as “One Country, One System," so must we. The United States is reviewing other authorities and will take additional measures to reflect the reality on the ground in Hong Kong,” added Pompeo.
