Hong Kong's dragnet widens 5 years after national security law
Jailed pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong shrugged and shook his head after a Hong Kong court this month announced a fresh charge of breaching the city's national security law.
The 28-year-old protest icon has spent more than four years behind bars and hoped to be let out in early 2027.
Now, there is no end in sight.
Monday marks five years since Beijing imposed a national security law after widespread and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub, which Chinese officials saw as a challenge to their rule.
China sees former protest leaders such as Wong as "incorrigible troublemakers", said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong.
"We have a daily drumbeat of national security on TV, in the media," Burns told AFP.
The new charge against Wong, who was jailed for subversion and unlawful assembly, underscores how Hong Kong authorities are still widening the dragnet.
The national security law criminalised for the first time secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion, with offenders facing up to life imprisonment.
Since the law was introduced, 165 people have been convicted of various national security crimes, including under follow-up legislation in 2024 and colonial-era sedition laws.
The most severely punished was legal academic Benny Tai, who was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison as part of a sprawling subversion case involving 47 opposition figures.
A lawyer, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive cases, said five years spent defending security law clients had laid bare the limits of his role. Of all those charged with national security crimes, only two have been acquitted.
"Our hands are tied," he told AFP. "Practically the only thing (lawyers) can do is argue for a lighter penalty."
- 'Information gap' -
Authorities have also warned against "soft resistance", a vague term introduced in 2021 and recently highlighted by Xia Baolong, China's top official overseeing Hong Kong.
Regina Ip, convenor of the Hong Kong government's cabinet, told AFP: "I don't think the government is being paranoid.
"Because of the increasingly complex and volatile international environment, we all need to be alert," she added.
Beijing security officials in Hong Kong also took part in "interviews" this month with collusion suspects for the first time, authorities said.
Eric Lai, a research fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said the city was adapting approaches from mainland China such as "invitation to tea" -- a practice associated with state security agents.
Such informal methods "to regulate and to stabilise society" were favoured because they are "less visible", Lai said.
Another local lawyer with experience in security cases also noted a worsening "information gap" that has kept the public in the dark.
"There are fewer prosecutions now but more arrests, 'interviews' and operations where (people) are not brought to court," said the lawyer, who requested anonymity.
High-profile legal battles have not ended: the case of media tycoon Jimmy Lai continues, while a trial involving organisers of Hong Kong's once-annual vigil marking Beijing's deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown has not yet begun.
- Wave of departures -
Scores of pro-democracy and civil society groups, including trade unions and media outlets, have closed since 2020 and the ouster of opposition lawmakers has had "massive consequences for accountability", said Burns.
Hong Kong's Democratic Party has begun a process that will lead to its dissolution, while local media reported on Wednesday that the League of Social Democrats, the other remaining opposition party, could fold within days.
The security law has prompted a wave of departures.
Hong Kong independence advocate Tony Chung said he felt unsafe after finishing a prison sentence for secession and fled to the United Kingdom in 2023.
Chung is among 19 people Hong Kong authorities deem to be national security fugitives.
The 24-year-old has at times struggled to adapt while he waits in Britain for political asylum but insists on promoting his separatist views.
"Many friends told me that I can start a new life here and leave politics behind," he told AFP.
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The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or have tariffs spike higher, but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new US tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending supply chains central to car makers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During US-China talks in May in Geneva, China committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2 but those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed, Bessent said, so the US put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that we - as agreed, the magnets will flow," Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to US firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He did not disclose details of the latest agreement, which Trump administration officials said was reached earlier this week. Efforts to resolve the dispute included a phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which led to teams from both sides meeting again in London, as negotiators try to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. China has dual-use restrictions in place on rare earths which it takes "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted for US military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. Indian government sources told Reuters that a trade delegation from New Delhi was back in Washington DC on Friday aiming to sew up a limited US trade deal ahead of the July 9 deadline. Trump administration officials frequently count India among countries with which trade talks are at an advanced stage, along with Japan. But early optimism about a simple deal to reduce India's high tariffs has hit roadblocks over disagreements on US import duties for car parts, steel and farm goods, Indian officials with direct knowledge said. Trump said that his administration was looking to get a "full trade barrier dropping" deal with India. "I'm not sure that that's going to happen but as of this moment, we've agreed to that - go into India and trade," Trump said. Trade deals between US President Donald Trump's administration and other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says. Bessent on Friday cited talks with 18 main United States trading partners and new revisions to a deal with China aimed at expediting rare earths shipments. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or have tariffs spike higher, but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new US tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending supply chains central to car makers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During US-China talks in May in Geneva, China committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2 but those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed, Bessent said, so the US put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that we - as agreed, the magnets will flow," Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to US firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He did not disclose details of the latest agreement, which Trump administration officials said was reached earlier this week. Efforts to resolve the dispute included a phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which led to teams from both sides meeting again in London, as negotiators try to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. China has dual-use restrictions in place on rare earths which it takes "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted for US military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. Indian government sources told Reuters that a trade delegation from New Delhi was back in Washington DC on Friday aiming to sew up a limited US trade deal ahead of the July 9 deadline. Trump administration officials frequently count India among countries with which trade talks are at an advanced stage, along with Japan. But early optimism about a simple deal to reduce India's high tariffs has hit roadblocks over disagreements on US import duties for car parts, steel and farm goods, Indian officials with direct knowledge said. Trump said that his administration was looking to get a "full trade barrier dropping" deal with India. "I'm not sure that that's going to happen but as of this moment, we've agreed to that - go into India and trade," Trump said.
