China’s top official on Hong Kong affairs said the city should “tightly hold” onto the bottom line of national security to safeguard development, in a speech coming weeks after the enactment of sweeping new security laws. “To move towards governance and prosperity, we need to tightly hold onto the bottom line of national security in order to safeguard the high …
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The U.S. has denounced Hong Kong’s new national security law as a tool to potentially silence dissent both at home and abroad, but so far the action from Washington has been notably muted, disappointing those fighting for the Chinese territory’s democracy and freedoms. Since the law’s swift passage on March 19, the U.S. has announced visa restrictions on an unspecified …
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Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that prisoners convicted for serious national security crimes would not likely be granted early release under the tightened rules of a new national security law, signaling a hardening government stance against jailed political activists. Chief Executive John Lee said the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance stipulates that people found guilty of endangering national security must not …
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The European Union and the United Nations said Hong Kong’s new national security bill was deeply worrying and could erode fundamental freedoms in the China-ruled city. “It is alarming that such consequential legislation was rushed through the legislature through an accelerated process, in spite of serious concerns raised about the incompatibility of many of its provisions with international human rights …
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Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approved a new national security law on Tuesday that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. The legislature passed the Safeguarding National Security Bill during a special session that lasted Tuesday. It comes on top of …
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