Photo:AP
Protests Flare In Hong Kong After New Security Law Announced
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily | MAY 24th 2020
A new wave of thousands of protestors in Hong Kong were fired upon by security forces with tear gas and water cannons on Sunday, after recent news of the submission of a draft security law was made public. A stronger protestor presence, similar to that of last year’s flare of protestors, is expected to rise up.
China’s news that it would be dropping a new security law over the city of Hong Kong had sparked major outrage, from both the city’s citizens as well as many of the world leaders. The greater political freedom of the city is thought to be at risk by the many protestors, whose demonstrations had recently seen far less activity due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that had led to many taking precautions against infection.
Hong Kong has many unique freedoms that aren’t partial to the rest of China - freedom of assembly and speech, as well as the rights to an independent judiciary, and a few democratic rights. These freedoms are thought to be at risk with the announcement of the imposition of the new security law. The protests originally sparked over the proposition over the extradition law by Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam are now focused on mass dispute over the security law.
The law has yet to be passed, but has been drafted and sent by China to its rubber stamp parliament, where it will be voted on and very likely passed the following week. The particular part of the national security law’s draft that sparked outrage is one that would pass the implementation of China’s mainland security forces alongside Hong Kong’s own security forces, essentially setting up institutions within the city that would be responsible for defence of national security.
“I am worried that after the implementation of the national security law, they will go after those being charged before and the police will be further out of control,” said a 16-year-old secondary school student, Twinnie, who declined to provide her last name. “I am afraid of being arrested but I still need to come out and protest for the future of Hong Kong.”
Willy Lam, a China expert, has expressed concern that the passing of this new security law could see several of the people’s present liberties removed, as well as a very great possibility that people will end up punished for criticising Beijing - as happens very frequently in mainland China. The right to protest is also absent from the country’s mainland.
With Hong Kong’s present judiciary system similar to that of the West’s, there are also fears that it will become more like that of China’s mainland where trials can be more easily corrupted for the benefit of the government.
"Almost all trials involving national security are conducted behind closed door. It was never clear what exactly the allegations and the evidence are, and the term national security is so vague that it could cover almost anything," said Professor Johannes Chan, a legal scholar at the University of Hong Kong.
The rally that had taken place on Sunday is the largest to have occurred since the announcement of the COVID-19 lockdowns, and was initially organised to protest against the proposition of a national anthem bill, but the newly announced national security law sparked a call for more people to take to the streets and convene against it.
By Patryk Krych | © The World Daily 2020
Related: Hong Kong - ‘One Country, Two Systems’
