Despite calls from Westerners and numerous criticisms of the opposition in the former British colony, the national parliament in China adopted at second reading "the law on national security in Hong Kong".
For Beijing, scalded by the monster demonstrations, a year ago, this law aims to ensure stability, to put an end to the vandalism that punctuated the demonstrations of 2019 in the city of 7.5 million inhabitants but of suppress the pro-independence trend.
"This will effectively bridge the legal loopholes, the lack of related systems, in order to safeguard national security, effectively combat the criminal activities concerned, as well as help maintain the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Hong Kong people, "according to local press.
"The end of Hong Kong"
If the content of the text has not been released, the official news agency Chine nouvelle had in June given the main lines, saying that the law intends to repress "separatism", "terrorism", "subversion" and "collusion with external and foreign forces. "
This stranglehold on China is widely criticized by the pro-democracy opposition in Hong Kong and by several Western countries, including the United States. According to them, this law constitutes an attack on the autonomy and freedoms of the territory.
A "national security organ" reporting to Beijing should be set up in Hong Kong. This will be responsible for collecting information but also for having certain prerogatives in the territory.
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“It marks the end of Hong Kong as the world knew it. With extensive powers and a poorly defined law, the city will turn into a state of secret police, "tweeted Joshua Wong, one of the figures of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement.
3. With sweeping powers and ill-defined law, the city will turn into a #secretpolicestate. #HongKongProtesters now face high possibilities of being extradited to China's courts for trials and life sentences.
- Joshua Wong 黃 之 鋒 😷 (@joshuawongcf) June 30, 2020Until now, since its retrocession, the territory had a large autonomy compared to mainland China, by virtue of the principle "One country, two systems". Hong Kong people enjoyed freedom of expression, freedom of the press, independent justice, and the capitalist system.
Except that the region is run by a local government whose members are systematically subservient to Beijing, under the terms of a selection process which dismisses opposition figures.
How will the population react?
This law has already caused the uproar of Western governments. The European Union (EU) had expressed its "grave concern". The G7 (Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) also called for a return to this project. Anticipating the vote and firmly opposed to Beijing on the Hong Kong file, Washington announced on Monday that sales of sensitive defense equipment to Hong Kong would be stopped to avoid "falling into the hands" of the Chinese army.
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In addition, since last week, the United States has announced visa restrictions for Chinese officials accused of "questioning" the autonomy of the territory. China responded on Monday with a similar measure targeting US citizens "having behaved badly" by criticizing the law.
The question now is what will be the reaction of the people of Hong Kong? Protests of scale seem at first sight difficult to organize: the authorities of Hong Kong always prohibit the gatherings of more than 50 people because of the epidemic of Covid-19.