ARTICLE 23: HONG KONG LEGISLATURE PASSES TOUGH NEW NATIONAL SECURITY LAW

“Today is a historic moment for Hong Kong,” said Chief Executive John Lee, who added that the law punishing five major crimes would go into effect on March 23.

It grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019.It comes on top of similar legislation – the National Security Law – imposed by China in 2020, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub. But both the Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the Beijing-imposed law restored stability after the 2019 protests.

Critics say that the major piece of legislation, known as Article 23, passed on Tuesday further threatens the China-ruled city’s freedoms.

“It makes the National Security regime much more comprehensive,” John Burns, an honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong, told Al Jazeera. “It includes a whole raft of things that were not crimes before or that were colonial crimes, but they have updated the crimes, they have increased the penalty.”The 90-seat council stacked with pro-China loyalists was first presented with the bill on March 8, following a monthlong public consultation, with Hong Kong’s leader calling for it to be enacted at “full speed”.

Eighty-eight politicians and the council’s president voted unanimously to enact the legislation.

The law threatens stringent penalties for a wide range of actions authorities call threats to national security, with the most severe – including treason and insurrection – punishable by life imprisonment.Lesser offences, including the possession of seditious publications, could also lead to several years in jail. Some provisions allow criminal prosecutions for acts committed anywhere in the world.

Those found guilty of treason could face sentences of up to life imprisonment, while those convicted of breaching state secrets or espionage could face 10 and 20 years respectively. Punishments relating to alleged collusion with foreign forces will also be increased, particularly if people are deemed to be working together rather than alone.

Penalties have been increased for sedition, currently addressed under a colonial-era law, to between seven and 10 years from two. And in contrast with the internationally accepted standard for sedition, the new law says that people can be charged with the offence even without an element of violent intent.