{"id":222792,"date":"2020-06-23T17:35:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T00:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=222792"},"modified":"2020-06-25T23:57:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T06:57:52","slug":"release-of-details-on-hong-kong-security-law-raises-more-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2020\/06\/release-of-details-on-hong-kong-security-law-raises-more-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Release of Details on Hong Kong Security Law Raises More Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, the National People’s Congress released a summary of proposed controversial national security legislation for Hong Kong<\/a>. Among other things, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Law on the Preservation of National Security will assert that Beijing “has basic responsibility for matters of national security and for the constitutional responsibility of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to preserve national security.” At CNN, James Griffiths analyzes the proposed changes <\/strong><\/a>and its potential impact on rule of law and human rights in Hong Kong:<\/p>\n

When Hong Kong was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the city’s common law system remained largely intact. Precedent remained in force, and protections under the new de facto constitution, Basic Law, as well as various international treaties, guaranteed a degree of fairness and freedom not seen in China, where the conviction rate is north of 90%.<\/p>\n

While the NPC did gain the ability to “interpret” Basic Law, essentially rewriting it in certain cases, the central government did not have any jurisdiction over individual cases, nor could people be tried for crimes against Beijing that were not illegal in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

The new national security law would change all of that. According to details published over the weekend, Chinese security organs will have the power to “exercise jurisdiction” over national security cases “under specific circumstances,” while other prosecutions under the law will be heard by a panel of judges picked by the city’s Beijing-appointed leader.<\/p>\n

[…] Though the draft did make reference to upholding the “rule of law” and various civil liberties, it also subordinates existing law to the national security bill, so that where there is a conflict, the national security law prevails. In practice, this could mean that when a national security prosecution contravenes human rights protected under Hong Kong law, those rights are suspended. [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At The New York Times, Chris Buckley, Keith Bradsher, and Elaine Yu further report on the new law and reaction to it from democracy advocates<\/strong><\/a> in Hong Kong:<\/p>\n

The explanation of the national security law for Hong Kong included other key points:<\/p>\n