Hongkong –

Hong Kong unveiled a new national security bill on Friday proposing sentences of up to life in prison for crimes including treason and rebellion, deepening concerns about further erosion of freedoms in the city after Beijing imposed a similar law four years ago. Objections were all but eliminated.

The proposed law would expand the government’s powers to eliminate future challenges to its rule, targeting espionage, external interference and protecting state secrets. Those who collude with external forces to commit certain illegal acts will be punished more severely than those who commit alone any illegal acts such as sabotage or sedition.

Lawmakers are due to begin debate on Friday in a specially arranged meeting to speed up the legislative process, driven by Hong Kong leader Lee Ka-chiu’s push to complete the legislative process “at full speed”. Following the electoral reforms, the bill is expected to sail easily through a legislature packed with Beijing loyalists, possibly within weeks.

Legislative Council Chairman Andrew Leung told reporters that the process was expedited because the bill was necessary to safeguard national security.

The pro-Beijing politician said: “If you look at other countries, they enacted it in one day, two weeks, three weeks… So why can’t Hong Kong do it quickly? You tell me.”

Critics warn that the legislation will make Hong Kong’s legal framework increasingly similar to that of mainland China and exacerbate the decline in civil liberties that were promised when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. will remain unchanged for 50 years.

However, the government pointed to the massive anti-government protests that rocked the city in 2019 as proof of its necessity and insisted it would only affect a “tiny minority” of disloyal residents.

Under the new law, inciting a foreign country to invade China by force could be considered treason, punishable by up to life in prison. Reckless violence that endangers the public safety of an entire city may be considered insurrection.

The government also suggested that harsher penalties should be adopted when residents collude with foreign powers to commit certain crimes, rather than when they commit certain crimes alone.

Damaging public infrastructure such as airports and other public transportation with the intent to endanger national security is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. But if they collude with outside forces, they could be sentenced to life in prison.

Likewise, those convicted of sedition face seven years in prison, but those who commit such acts in collusion with outside forces can increase the sentence to ten years.

Its broad definition of external forces includes foreign governments and political parties, international organizations and corporations (when their directors are obliged to act in accordance with the wishes of foreign governments).

Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, requires Hong Kong to enact its own national security law. But a previous attempt to pass a version of the law sparked massive street protests that attracted half a million people, and the legislation was shelved.

Due to the chilling effect of the 2020 law, mass protests against the current bill are unlikely to happen again. The bill was intended to quell protests in 2019 after many of the city’s leading pro-democracy activists were arrested and others fled abroad. Dozens of civil society groups have been disbanded, and outspoken outlets such as Apple Daily and Stand News have been shut down.

The government said that during a month-long public comment period that ended last week, 98.6% of comments received by officials were supportive, with only 0.72% opposed to the recommendations. The remainder purely contain questions or opinions and do not reflect the author’s position, it added.

But business people and journalists have expressed concern that a broad law could criminalize their daily work, especially when the proposed definition of state secrets involves secrets related to economic, social and technological developments.

Under the bill, the maximum penalty related to state secret crimes is 3 to 10 years in prison. The government has tried to allay concerns by adding a public interest defense under certain conditions in the proposals.

John Burns, emeritus professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, said it remained to be seen how courts would interpret the extent to which disclosure “clearly exceeds” non-disclosure.

Burns said the bill, if passed as expected, could have a chilling effect on local groups, particularly political groups and public policy lobbying groups that benefit from ties to their overseas counterparts.

“At least initially I expect they will be particularly cautious in expanding their ties to similar groups overseas,” he said.

Officials also plan to take tougher measures against those suspected of jeopardizing safety. Those arrested but released on bail may face a “movement restriction order” that restricts where they can live and enter, and prevents them from communicating with certain people.

Authorities will have the power to target specific escapees with sanctions, such as preventing people from financially supporting them, employing them, renting property or starting a business with them.

Prisoners convicted of national security crimes will also not receive reduced sentences until authorities are satisfied that their early release will not pose a national security risk. This will apply to all national security prisoners, even those sentenced before the bill.