Hong Kong: One yr after China handed the nationwide safety regulation, residents really feel Beijing’s tightening grip
Now, the full text was here — and it was broader, vaguer and gave Beijing more power than many expected.
The result was a law that criminalized acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security — with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for all four.
Immediately, people voiced alarm that the loosely worded law could be used to stifle any type of dissent.
Chinese and Hong Kong leaders assured the public the law would target a minority of individuals, and not diminish freedoms in the semi-autonomous city.
One year on, while some have welcomed the law for restoring stability after the violence and political unrest of 2019, others feel their worst fears have been confirmed.
Crackdown measures that would have been previously unthinkable have arrived at a dizzying speed, with 117 people arrested under the security law and 64 charged as of June 27. Once an open international hub with a freewheeling press, rich protest culture and…
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