Editorial: Punitive legislation is already in place. But the territory’s masters are hammering home the message
, broad in scope and harsh in penalties, is trampling over basic rights. It first happened four years ago, in response to thethat saw one in four people take to the streets to defend the region’s autonomy and way of life.upon the territory, demolishing any vestiges of its claim to run Hong Kong on a “one country, two systems” basis. That legislation, both vague and sweeping, claims jurisdiction over acts committed by anyone anywhere in the world. It introduced trials without juries.
The new NSL is even more punitive and far reaching: from this weekend, when it takes effect, treason, insurrection and sabotage will be punishable with a life sentence. Jail terms for sedition will rise from, or 10 if the perpetrator is found to have colluded with a foreign force. Detention without charge, currently limited to 48 hours, can be extended to 16 days.
Officials say the new law is needed to “plug loopholes” and prevent a resurgence of the unrest in 2019, which included violence sparked by the police’s use of excessive force. But the new law, pushed through the LegCo, is as much a symbol as a tool, reinforcing the message of Hong Kong’s submission. The Basic Law – the city’s mini-constitution after handover – stated that the city would pass its own national security laws. But the first attempt in 2003that officials gave up.
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