‘Attacks, smears will never succeed’

china blasts criticism of new hong Kong security law as doomed to fail

Beijing: China blasted critics of Hong Kong’s new national security law, after Western powers and the United Nations said it would further curtail freedoms in the city.

Hong Kong, a former colony of Britain before the 1997 handover back to China, on Tuesday passed a security law commonly referred to as Article 23 to punish five crimes after a fast-tracked legislative process.

British foreign minister David Cameron said it was a “rushed” process for a law that would “further damage the rights and freedoms enjoyed in the city”.

And Australia’s top diplomat Penny Wong yesterday warned her visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Canberra that the new law would “further erode rights and freedoms” and have implications far beyond China.

The US, UN, European Union and Japan have also publicly spoken out against the law.

Beijing yesterday blasted all criticism of the law, with foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian telling the press that “attacks and smears will never succeed and are doomed to fail”. “Security is a prerequisite for development, and the rule of law is the cornerstone of prosperity,” Lin said.

Earlier China’s de facto foreign ministry in Hong Kong blasted Britain as being “hypocritical and exercising double standards” in an apparent reference to its own national security laws. It also expressed “strong disaffection and opposition” to the EU’S position.

As part of Britain’s handover agreement to China, Hong Kong was guaranteed certain freedoms, including judicial and legislative autonomy, for 50 years in a deal known as “one country, two systems”.

The accord cemented the city’s status as a world-class business hub, bolstered by a reliable judiciary and political freedoms distinct from the mainland.

But 2019’s massive and at times violent democracy protests – which saw hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers take to the streets to call for more autonomy from Beijing’s rule – drew a swift response from authorities.

Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 focused on punishing four crimes – secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

The newly passed law, which punishes treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage, and external interference, will work in tandem to plug up “gaps” left by Beijing’s legislation, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has said.