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Hong Kong has unveiled details of a proposed new national security law targeting acts of espionage, treason and foreign political influence, which analysts warned would further curb civil freedoms in the city and damage its status as an international financial hub.
John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said the legislation would ensure stability in the Chinese territory and safeguard against geopolitical tensions.
“The threat to national security is real,” Lee told reporters on Tuesday. “It is time to put an end to this problem which has plagued Hong Kong for 26 years, so that we can put our full efforts on improving the economy.”
The legislation is on top of a national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 in the wake of anti-government protests. That law targets broadly defined crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers.
Hong Kong is required to implement its own security law under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that took effect after the former British colony was returned China in 1997. An attempted introduction in 2003 triggered what were then the largest protests in the territory’s history and preceded the resignation of its first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa.
After a four-week public consultation the new legislation is expected to be submitted to the city’s legislature, which is packed with Beijing loyalists, and enacted this year.
Businesses and legal experts have raised concerns about Hong Kong’s appeal as an international financial hub as the city’s legal framework — once a core part of its cherished autonomy — comes to more closely resemble that of mainland China.
Beijing’s crackdown following the 2019 protests, which were triggered by public opposition to a proposal to allow extradition to mainland China, has silenced dissent in the city, curbed civil liberties and, alongside almost three years of strict anti-pandemic controls, accelerated an exodus of foreign workers and businesses.
On Tuesday officials said the new legislation would also target theft of state secrets and offences related to “participating in or supporting external intelligence organisations”.
China’s security agencies have recently targeted foreign businesses over the transmission of sensitive information, conducting raids last year on US consultancies Bain & Company and Mintz and expert network provider Capvision.
Last week Beijing disclosed that a British consultant who disappeared in 2018 had been sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for “illegally providing intelligence” to overseas parties.
“International business has run into trouble on the mainland, with [businesspeople] detained for suspected state secrets violations,” said John Burns, emeritus professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong. “Will the same illiberal interpretation of national security characterise Article 23’s implementation?”
“There is a risk that companies’ stakeholders abroad will see this as bringing Hong Kong more closely in line with the mainland at a time when we feel it is important to stress the differences rather than the perceived similarities,” said a foreign chamber of commerce representative in Hong Kong who asked to remain anonymous.
Hong Kong officials added on Tuesday that they wanted to address electronic acts of sabotage to national security and “modern-day espionage”, including the spread of false information that interfered with the city’s affairs.
Thomas Kellogg, a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington, said the reach of the proposed law was “very broad”, adding that it could increase pressure on pro-democracy activists overseas and strain foreign NGOs’ operations in the city.
“Such provisions could further damage Hong Kong’s standing as a global hub, one that is open for business,” he said.
Hong Kong’s economy has struggled to recover from the pandemic restrictions and political crackdown, with the benchmark Hang Seng index dropping for a fourth consecutive year in 2023. The index fell a further 2 per cent on Tuesday.
Gross domestic product data due to be released on Wednesday is expected to show the city’s economy expanded at a rate of just over 3 per cent in 2023 as it contended with slower growth in mainland China and higher interest rates.
