At midnight on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, the eve of the anniversary of the handover of the territory from British colonial rule to China, television in Hong Kong broadcasted breaking news that Beijing had issued a national security law in Hong Kong, which would take effect immediately. This law, with its 66 articles, remained secret until the law officially entered into force. This greatly expands Beijing’s powers to bypass existing legal procedures, undermine civil and political liberties in the city, and investigate, prosecute, and punish suspected criminals in Hong Kong and in China. The demands are a challenge to its national sovereignty, and the result was that the Chinese parliament announced its intention to issue this law, bypassing the elected parliament in Hong Kong. Indeed, the entire draft law was drafted behind doors in closed meetings in Beijing without the participation of any party from Hong Kong, even Carrie Lam, the leader of Hong Kong. Kong, who did not participate in those meetings. Under the new law, the Chinese central government has strengthened its presence in Hong Kong to enforce the law under the name of the “Office for Safeguarding National Security.” A secret national security committee will also be established, consisting of Hong Kong government officials and an advisor appointed by the Chinese central government. According to what was published by the Hong Kong government, The work of this committee “will not be revealed to the public,” and the committee’s decisions “will not be subject to judicial review.” On the other hand, there were great fears about applying the law retroactively, especially since the penalties contained in the law amount to life imprisonment. Especially since the main goal of the law It is to strengthen Beijing’s direct control over the semi-autonomous city. It can be used to target political opponents, activists, human rights lawyers and journalists amid the central government’s ongoing crackdown on civil society under Chinese President Xi. In the first month of the law’s implementation, schools were ordered to remove textbooks that could violate The law, and the authorities established the “Bureau for the Protection of National Security” and the “Secret Committee for National Security,” allowing Chinese security officers to work in the city for the first time. Indeed, students were arrested for posts on social media sites, and pro-democracy candidates were prevented from running in the legislative elections for reasons related to In national security. Now, after a full year has passed since the implementation of the National Security Law, repressive measures have increased in an unprecedented manner, as 117 people have been arrested under Chinese law and 64 people have been charged. After Hong Kong was an open international center characterized by a free press, a rich protest culture, and limited democracy, it has become very similar to other Chinese cities that are under the iron grip of Beijing and subject to Chinese laws and censorship. Thus, school and university curricula, libraries, films and free access to the Internet have all been negatively affected. In August of last year, the headquarters of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was raided and its officials were arrested. Last June, the newspaper’s headquarters were raided again, they arrested the newspaper’s directors, and froze the newspaper’s assets, prompting the newspaper’s management to announce its closure, after which Stand News, another pro-democracy platform, announced the announcement. – The resignation of most of its directors and that it will remove opinion articles from its website due to the blocking of websites for reasons related to national security. Even the annual book fair, the fair’s management threatened participants to call the police if any exhibits or materials were found that violate the national security law. Of course, protests have become prohibited. Almost all of the city’s pro-democracy figures were imprisoned or at least forced to emigrate. Tens of thousands of citizens have migrated to democratic countries, countries that have provided safe haven from Chinese law after it suspended extradition agreements with Hong Kong. The Chinese central government’s efforts did not stop at implementing the National Security Law to control Hong Kong and eliminate voices calling for democracy. Rather, they worked to reorganize the city’s electoral framework, and last March they approved a law that changes the composition of the city’s parliament so that it is controlled by a majority appointed by the government by forming a committee. New screening of candidates. Even if some pro-democracy candidates leak into Parliament, the majority will be loyal to Beijing. All these repressive measures, human rights violations and asset freezes have shaken investor confidence in Hong Kong as a base for international companies in Southeast Asia, and the feeling of fear has increased and some companies have reduced their presence in Hong Kong because of these Political unrest. But on the night of Wednesday, June 23, 2021, people began to stand in long lines in front of newsstands, carrying signs and flowers to buy Thursday’s newspaper, the latest edition of the “Apple Daily,” and they gathered in front of the newspaper building and began waving flashlights and yellow ribbons (the color of the pro- For Democracy) raising the slogan: Keep going, work hard, and above all, persevere.
