Pro-Chinese supporters display Chinese and Hong Kong flags at a rally in Hong Kong. (AFP)
Beijing:
Hong Kong’s new security law will be a “sword” that will hang over the heads of those who endanger national security, authorities in Beijing announced on Tuesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the law.
The official Xinhua news agency said that the main Chinese legislative body voted to adopt the controversial law and include it in the Hong Kong mini-constitution.
Critics and western governments fear the new law will stifle freedoms in the semi-autonomous city.
But the Beijing and Hong Kong governments have insisted that the laws will only target a minority of people and restore business confidence after a year of pro-democracy protests that rocked the city.
“For the small minority who endanger national security, this law will be a sword hanging over their heads,” said the main Chinese body for Hong Kong affairs.
But “for the vast majority of Hong Kong residents and foreigners in Hong Kong, this law is a guardian spirit that protects their freedoms,” said the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Bureau.
The statement said that central and municipal governments would work “jointly” together to ensure the law is implemented, and “usher in a turning point, for chaos to turn into governance.”
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
