China’s top legislative body yesterday released new details of national security legislation to be imposed on Hong Kong, shedding light on a measure that pro-democracy groups warn could undermine the territory’s appeal as a financial center.
The draft bill calls for Hong Kong to establish a new committee headed by its chief executive to protect national security, which would be supervised and accountable to Beijing.
China would also establish a new bureau in Hong Kong to analyze the security situation, collect intelligence and “lawfully handle national security cases,” according to draft language released by the official Xinhua news agency.
Photo: AP
The law says the central government would have jurisdiction over an “extremely small” number of national security cases under “specific circumstances,” Xinhua said.
The police and judiciary would need to establish new departments to handle cases under the law, it said.
According to the security law, the Hong Kong chief executive would appoint judges to handle criminal cases endangering national security.
The draft also asks the Hong Kong government to increase efforts to safeguard national security and prevent “terrorism.”
Hong Kong must “adopt special measures strengthening oversight and management” of schools and social organizations, it says.
The national security commission would also set up a position of special adviser, who would be designated by the central government, and provide consultation to the special commission.
Hong Kong should “respect and protect human rights,” while ensuring national security, and anyone accused has the right to defend themselves, the bill says.
The Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee has the power to interpret the law, which would override any local laws that are inconsistent with its provisions.
Details of the measures to punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces in the former British colony had been secret since the NPC approved their drafting on May 28.
The NPC Standing Committee began deliberations on the legislation on Thursday, after a last-minute announcement that it had been added to the agenda.
The law would shape the future of Hong Kong, raising questions about the autonomy of a territory whose global status is a underpinned by its legal distinction from the mainland.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government decided to bypass the elected Hong Kong Legislative Council and impose the security law after a wave of historically large and sometimes violent protests gripped the territory last year.
The law has fueled resurgent pro-democracy protests and led the US to threaten to revoke Hong Kong’s special trade status, which has helped maintain its role as a vital financial crossroads between China and the West.
The European Parliament on Friday voted in favor of taking China to the International Court of Justice in The Hague if Beijing imposes the security law on Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Lawmaker Fernando Cheung (張超雄) said the details made clear that the Chinese Communist Party “has the power to pick whoever they want” and bring them to the mainland to face criminal charges.
“No doubt, this law has immediately turned Hong Kong into a mainland city,” he said. “I don’t see how the international community would feel secure under this law and I’m sure that there will be an exodus of young professionals in the near future.”
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
DISPUTE: A Chinese official prompted a formal protest from Tokyo by saying that ‘the dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,’ after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks Four armed China Coast Guard vessels yesterday morning sailed through disputed waters controlled by Japan, amid a diplomatic spat following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. The four ships sailed around the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to Taiwan, and which Taiwan and China also claim — on Saturday before entering Japanese waters yesterday and left, the Japan Coast Guard said. The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it carried out a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters and that it was a lawful operation. As of the end of last month,
RSS