ONLY 3 ENTITIES BACK CHINA’S DRACONIAN NAT’L SECURITY LAW

The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) has reported that out of the 22 countries, organizations and individuals interviewed on the proposed National Security Law filed before the National People’s Congress in Beijing, 19 criticized the proposal and only three supported it—China Daily, Global Times and the pro-China New People’s Party (NPP).

In her May 22, 2020 article, Rachel Wong noted that the majority of the reactions condemned Beijing’s move and urged China to respect the 1997 agreement with the United Kingdom that guaranteed autonomy for the business and financial hub under the principle of “One Country, Two Systems.” Yet, an interesting reaction came from US President Trump, who said “I don’t know what it is, because nobody knows yet. If it happens, we’ll address that issue very strongly.”

China expert Bill Bishop said “this move affirms that Hong Kong as we knew it is gone and rule of law is now rule by law, with the CCP determining what the laws are and how they will be enforced. The legal complexities of how they justify imposing this law from Beijing will not get in the way of the brutal political reality. The reaction in Hong Kong could be intense, and violent.”

EU security spokesperson Virginie Battu-Henriksson stressed: “[The] EU is following very closely developments related to #HongKong. We attach great importance to ‘One Country Two Systems’ principle. Democratic debate in Hong Kong and respect for rights & freedoms are the best way to preserve it in [the] context of poss. national security legislation.” The EU argued that “the EU considers that democratic debate, consultation of key stakeholders, and respect for protected rights and freedoms in Hong Kong would represent the best way of proceeding with the adoption of national security legislation, as foreseen in Article 23 of the Basic Law, while also upholding Hong Kong’s autonomy and the ‘One Country Two Systems’ principle."