Beijing’s assertion of its law on Hong Kong is almost certain to change the complexion of the Asian financial centre, The Globe’s Nathan VanderKlippe writes
File photo of demonstrators protesting a proposed extradition bill aim their flashlights towards riot police as they are chased through the streets of Hong Kong on August 25, 2019.The Chinese government is preparing to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong, raising fears of new curbs on the city’s freedoms as Beijing’s state media pledged the complete eradication of what it called a “cancer” of pro-independence sentiment.
Worry that Beijing is preparing to enforce security by policing speech grew so acute that NordVPN, a provider of software that can circumvent Internet censorship, saw a 120-fold increase in inquires from Hong Kong Thursday. In a strident commentary published Thursday, China’s central Xinhua News Agency cited “turmoil” in Hong Kong, and what it called a collusion with external forces and a pro-independence movement, as grounds for Beijing to act.
Still, the likelihood of Beijing acting unilaterally toward Hong Kong had been dismissed even recently by legal experts, who saw it as a risky strategy for China, with potentially catastrophic results, in part because Chinese law does not fit well with Hong Kong’s common law tradition. “The phrase ‘on its own’ was added to ensure that Mainland law shall not be directly imposed” on Hong Kong, Prof. Chan saidStory continues below advertisement
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