China Unanimously Passes Hong Kong Security Law... Likely to Take Effect on July 1 (Update)

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] On the 30th, despite strong opposition from Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, the Chinese government completed the final review and passed the Hong Kong National Security Law (Hong Kong Security Law).

On the 30th, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China put the reviewed draft of the Hong Kong Security Law to a vote at the closing meeting at 9 a.m. (local time). The bill was passed unanimously. It has been a month since the draft of the Hong Kong Security Law was passed at the NPC plenary session, which ended on the 28th of last month, and the subsequent legislative process involving specific content revisions was entrusted to the NPC Standing Committee.

Although the passage of the bill usually requires three reviews by the NPC Standing Committee, reflecting the urgency and importance of the matter, it was finally passed after only two reviews. The passed bill is likely to be inserted into the annex of the Basic Law, the de facto constitution of Hong Kong, by the Hong Kong government and come into effect immediately from the next month’s Hong Kong sovereignty return anniversary on the 1st.

The Hong Kong Security Law prohibits and punishes collusion with foreign forces, acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, and establishes agencies within Hong Kong to enforce these provisions.

Although the specific contents of the draft Hong Kong Security Law have not yet been disclosed, rumors are spreading within Hong Kong that the newly established National Security Bureau directly under the Chinese government will be headed by senior Hong Kong public security officials, and those who lead acts such as subversion of state power could face the maximum life sentence. There are also expectations that the law will be applied retroactively, leading to the arrest of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy figures such as Joshua Wong and Jimmy Lai, who have shown signs of collusion with foreign forces.

According to sources via the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), "All Hong Kong delegations belonging to the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference were notified to attend a central government meeting at 3 p.m. that day," and "a briefing on the Hong Kong Security Law is expected." Another source said, "The state-run news agency Xinhua will announce all the detailed contents related to the Hong Kong Security Law that afternoon," adding, "This will be the first time the bill’s contents are fully disclosed to the public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.