TERMINATION OF AUTONOMY
China is introducing a new law on Hong Kong, it will tighten controls on police and intelligence agencies
A bill presented by Congress' legal affairs committee on Saturday says it will be above Hong Kong's constitutional document
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck
Anthony Wallace / AFP
China's top legislature met in Beijing on Sunday, the first of three days of sessions expected to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong.
The Standing Committee of the Chinese National Assembly put the law on the agenda on Sunday morning, Hong Kong-based i-Cable News reported, citing claims by Ipa Kwok-hima, a delegate from the autonomous region.
Even at the last session of Congress, which ended on June 20, the security law did not appear on the original agenda, but was added during the session.
The adoption of the law, aimed at combating "subversion, secession, terrorism and conspiracies with foreign and foreign powers" in the city, is expected to accelerate to take effect on the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's surrender from Britain to China 1 . July.
That anniversary has so far been an occasion for mass pro-democracy protests when the Chinese government tried unsuccessfully to introduce a 2003 national security law.
The bill, presented by Congress' committee on legal issues on Saturday, says it will be above Hong Kong's constitutional document, the so-called Basic Law.
The new measure will allow central China's security agencies to operate in Hong Kong, and calls for the establishment of a new police force and a state prosecutor, while judges will be elected by the executive.
The Hong Kong leadership, like leader Carrie Lam , while strongly advocating the passage of the law, has not been given insight into the final law, so they have not even responded to the concerns of those who believe it will undermine civil liberties.
Hong Kong Justice Minister Teresa Cheng told reporters earlier this month that she did not know the details of the law other than what she read from the media.
Reuters reported on Sunday that hundreds of Hong Kong residents took to the streets to "quietly" protest against the law.
The protest comes a day after security forces refused to approve the July 1 annual rally, arguing it would violate a ban on the gathering of more than fifty people imposed by the coronavirus pandemic
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