Latest news with #SafeguardingNationalSecurityRegulation
The Star
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
China security office flexes new power with Hong Kong probe
The raids show Hong Kong's clampdown on dissent is still expanding, five years after President Xi Jinping imposed a security law on the city. -- PHOTO: REUTERS HONG KONG/BEIJING (Bloomberg): Beijing's national security office in Hong Kong carried out its first known joint operation with city officials, marking an expansion of China's direct law enforcement in the financial hub. Local authorities on Thursday night announced they were investigating a case of alleged foreign collusion with China's Office for Safeguarding National Security. The office interviewed six people after requesting the support of Hong Kong police using new powers granted last month, according to a statement. Hong Kong security officials searched the homes of six suspects, as well as the office of an organization, and seized evidence including bank documents and devices. The individuals were also required to surrender their travel documents. The suspects are accused of "collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security' from November 2020 to June 2024, the government said. The statement didn't reveal their identities. The raids show Hong Kong's clampdown on dissent is still expanding, five years after President Xi Jinping imposed a security law on the city to cement Communist Party control. Hong Kong officials this week banned a video game for the first time under security legislation, accusing it of advocating armed revolution. That came days after imprisoned former activist Joshua Wong was hit with a fresh security charge. The one-time poster child of the city's pro-democracy protest movement was due for release in early 2027, having served two-thirds of his current 56-month prison term. In response to a Bloomberg News inquiry, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said it "strongly opposes to unfounded allegations and slandering remarks against the joint operation' without specifying the offending statements. No one has been arrested in the ongoing investigation, the person said in an emailed reply. Fast-Tracked The joint operation this week marked the first application of the Safeguarding National Security Regulation, which was fast-tracked into law to facilitate Chinese security personnel. While the Beijing-imposed security law allows mainland officials to assume jurisdiction in certain cases, the new measures bolstered that legal framework for China's security apparatus to operate directly within Hong Kong's common law system. The May 13 legislation, which took effect before being review by lawmakers, requires Hong Kong government departments and civil servants to provide "all necessary and reasonable assistance, facilitation, support, backing and protection' to the Chinese security officers upon request. The new rules also criminalize acts that could impede the China-run office's work, including disclosing details of its investigations, with penalties extending up to seven years in prison and fines. The Hong Kong government has signaled a continued emphasis on national security even as it vows to focus on supporting growth, which has been challenged by China's slowdown and an uncertain external environment. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Straits Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
China security office flexes new power with Hong Kong probe
The raids show Hong Kong's clampdown on dissent is still expanding, five years after President Xi Jinping imposed a security law on the city. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING - Beijing's national security office in Hong Kong carried out its first known joint operation with city officials, marking an expansion of China's direct law enforcement in the financial hub. Local authorities on the night of June 12 announced they were investigating a case of alleged foreign collusion with China's Office for Safeguarding National Security. The office interviewed six people after requesting the support of Hong Kong police using new powers granted last month, according to a statement. Hong Kong security officials searched the homes of six suspects, as well as the office of an organisation, and seized evidence including bank documents and devices. The individuals were also required to surrender their travel documents. The suspects are accused of 'collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security' from November 2020 to June 2024, the government said. The statement didn't reveal their identities. The raids show Hong Kong's clampdown on dissent is still expanding, five years after President Xi Jinping imposed a security law on the city to cement Communist Party control. Hong Kong officials this week banned a video game for the first time under security legislation, accusing it of advocating armed revolution. That came days after imprisoned former activist Joshua Wong was hit with a fresh security charge. The one-time poster child of the city's pro-democracy protest movement was due for release in early 2027, having served two-thirds of his current 56-month prison term. In response to a Bloomberg News inquiry, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said it 'strongly opposes to unfounded allegations and slandering remarks against the joint operation' without specifying the offending statements. No one has been arrested in the ongoing investigation, the person said in an emailed reply. Fast-tracked The joint operation this week marked the first application of the Safeguarding National Security Regulation, which was fast-tracked into law to facilitate Chinese security personnel. While the Beijing-imposed security law allows mainland officials to assume jurisdiction in certain cases, the new measures bolstered that legal framework for China's security apparatus to operate directly within Hong Kong's common law system. The May 13 legislation, which took effect before being review by lawmakers, requires Hong Kong government departments and civil servants to provide 'all necessary and reasonable assistance, facilitation, support, backing and protection' to the Chinese security officers upon request. The new rules also criminalise acts that could impede the China-run office's work, including disclosing details of its investigations, with penalties extending up to seven years in prison and fines. The Hong Kong government has signaled a continued emphasis on national security even as it vows to focus on supporting growth, which has been challenged by China's slowdown and an uncertain external environment. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Mint
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
China Security Office Flexes New Power With Hong Kong Probe
Beijing's national security office in Hong Kong carried out its first known joint operation with city officials, marking an expansion of China's direct law enforcement in the financial hub. Local authorities on Thursday night announced they were investigating a case of alleged foreign collusion with China's Office for Safeguarding National Security. The office interviewed six people after requesting the support of Hong Kong police using new powers granted last month, according to a statement. Hong Kong security officials searched the homes of six suspects, as well as the office of an organization, and seized evidence including bank documents and devices. The individuals were also required to surrender their travel documents. The suspects are accused of 'collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security' from November 2020 to June 2024, the government said. The statement didn't reveal their identities. The raids show Hong Kong's clampdown on dissent is still expanding, five years after President Xi Jinping imposed a security law on the city to cement Communist Party control. Hong Kong officials this week banned a video game for the first time under security legislation, accusing it of advocating armed revolution. That came days after imprisoned former activist Joshua Wong was hit with a fresh security charge. The one-time poster child of the city's pro-democracy protest movement was due for release in early 2027, having served two-thirds of his current 56-month prison term. In response to a Bloomberg News inquiry, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said it 'strongly opposes to unfounded allegations and slandering remarks against the joint operation' without specifying the offending statements. No one has been arrested in the ongoing investigation, the person said in an emailed reply. The joint operation this week marked the first application of the Safeguarding National Security Regulation, which was fast-tracked into law to facilitate Chinese security personnel. While the Beijing-imposed security law allows mainland officials to assume jurisdiction in certain cases, the new measures bolstered that legal framework for China's security apparatus to operate directly within Hong Kong's common law system. The May 13 legislation, which took effect before being review by lawmakers, requires Hong Kong government departments and civil servants to provide 'all necessary and reasonable assistance, facilitation, support, backing and protection' to the Chinese security officers upon request. The new rules also criminalize acts that could impede the China-run office's work, including disclosing details of its investigations, with penalties extending up to seven years in prison and fines. The Hong Kong government has signaled a continued emphasis on national security even as it vows to focus on supporting growth, which has been challenged by China's slowdown and an uncertain external environment. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Scoop
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Hong Kong: New National Security Subsidiary Legislation Further Intensifies Repression
Press Release – Fortify Rights New national security measures strengthen Beijings stranglehold on freedoms. (BANGKOK, May 30, 2025)—New national security measures announced in Hong Kong two weeks ago further intensify the crackdown on freedom of expression, association, assembly, and other basic human rights in the city and undermine the rule of law, judicial independence, and Hong Kong's promised autonomy, Fortify Rights said today. A new 'Safeguarding National Security Regulation' came into effect on May 13, 2025, fast-tracked through the city's Legislative Council just one day after the Hong Kong Security Bureau published proposals for subsidiary legislation. 'These new measures intensify Hong Kong's continuing slide into authoritarianism,' said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. 'Further alignment of Hong Kong's judicial system with Beijing's is deeply concerning given the latter's complete lack of judicial independence and widespread use of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance.' The new regulations strengthen measures adopted under the draconian National Security Law (NSL) imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing on June 30, 2020, and an additional domestic security law enacted by the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, on March 23, 2024. In particular, the new subsidiary legislation strengthens and details procedures for mainland China's ability to exercise jurisdiction over national security cases in Hong Kong, as set out in Article 55 of the 2020 NSL, allowing for prosecutions and trials to take place in the mainland itself. The new measures also designate six sites in Hong Kong – including four hotels–as prohibited locations, because they are bases for the national security bureau. These include the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, the City Garden Hotel in North Point, the Island Pacific Hotel in Sai Wan, a China Travel Service hotel in Hung Hom, and two locations along Hoi Fan Road in Tai Kok Tsui. Under the additional regulations, anyone disclosing information about the activities of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, which is under the direct control of the central government in Beijing, would face a prison sentence of up to seven years. The impact of the security laws imposed by Beijing over the past five years has led to an almost complete dismantling of civil society. The laws apply to the crimes of treason, sedition, secession, subversion, and state secrets, including 'collusion' with foreign forces—vaguely defined terms that have been used imprison pro-democracy activists and shutdown civil society activities. Over the past six years, an estimated 1,000 political prisoners have been jailed, including those arrested during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. These include former democratically elected legislators, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Among the most prominent political prisoners are the media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, and human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung. Chow Hang-tung, 40, has been imprisoned since 2021 for her role leading an annual vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, serving multiple sentences. She is charged with inciting subversion under the NSL and has been detained for more than 1,000 days. Jimmy Lai, 77, a British citizen, has been in solitary confinement for more than 1,600 days, held for more than 23 hours a day with no natural light and permitted less than an hour a day for physical exercise. He has been denied the right to independent medical treatment and his first choice of legal counsel, and his international legal team at Doughty Street Chambers have been subjected to rape and death threats and harassment. Jimmy Lai has been arbitrarily detained by the Hong Kong authorities on several occasions, including for 13 months for simply lighting a candle and saying a prayer at a vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He is currently on trial under Hong Kong's draconian NSL, imposed by Beijing in 2020, and could face life imprisonment. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that both Jimmy Lai and Chow Hang-tung are human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained and should be immediately released. Last week, 22 former political prisoners, hostages, and their relatives sent an open letter to the British prime minister Keir Starmer urging him to act to secure Jimmy Lai's release. Fortify Rights' Senior Director Benedict Rogers attended the press conference at which several of the signatories released the letter. The Safeguarding National Security Regulation may result in further violations of human rights, in addition to the violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and other freedoms already perpetrated under the 2020 NSL and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. If the Chinese authorities prosecute, convict and imprison Hong Kong national security cases in mainland China, the right of defendants to fair trial, and to freedom from arbitrary arrest or disappearance, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, forced labor, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), will be significantly undermined. Although China is not a party to the ICCPR, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Basic Law and Bill of Rights incorporate the ICCPR into Hong Kong law and therefore these new regulations violate Hong Kong's obligations under its own domestic law and international law. 'There is a grave risk that Jimmy Lai could die in jail,' said Benedict Rogers. 'The international community, particularly the United Kingdom, has a responsibility to act urgently to secure his release. We urge world leaders to increase pressure on China to free Jimmy Lai, and to spell out the consequences for the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong if they refuse to do so.'
Scoop
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Hong Kong: New National Security Subsidiary Legislation Further Intensifies Repression
(BANGKOK, May 30, 2025)—New national security measures announced in Hong Kong two weeks ago further intensify the crackdown on freedom of expression, association, assembly, and other basic human rights in the city and undermine the rule of law, judicial independence, and Hong Kong's promised autonomy, Fortify Rights said today. A new 'Safeguarding National Security Regulation' came into effect on May 13, 2025, fast-tracked through the city's Legislative Council just one day after the Hong Kong Security Bureau published proposals for subsidiary legislation. 'These new measures intensify Hong Kong's continuing slide into authoritarianism,' said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. 'Further alignment of Hong Kong's judicial system with Beijing's is deeply concerning given the latter's complete lack of judicial independence and widespread use of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance.' The new regulations strengthen measures adopted under the draconian National Security Law (NSL) imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing on June 30, 2020, and an additional domestic security law enacted by the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, on March 23, 2024. In particular, the new subsidiary legislation strengthens and details procedures for mainland China's ability to exercise jurisdiction over national security cases in Hong Kong, as set out in Article 55 of the 2020 NSL, allowing for prosecutions and trials to take place in the mainland itself. The new measures also designate six sites in Hong Kong – including four hotels–as prohibited locations, because they are bases for the national security bureau. These include the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, the City Garden Hotel in North Point, the Island Pacific Hotel in Sai Wan, a China Travel Service hotel in Hung Hom, and two locations along Hoi Fan Road in Tai Kok Tsui. Under the additional regulations, anyone disclosing information about the activities of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, which is under the direct control of the central government in Beijing, would face a prison sentence of up to seven years. The impact of the security laws imposed by Beijing over the past five years has led to an almost complete dismantling of civil society. The laws apply to the crimes of treason, sedition, secession, subversion, and state secrets, including 'collusion' with foreign forces—vaguely defined terms that have been used imprison pro-democracy activists and shutdown civil society activities. Over the past six years, an estimated 1,000 political prisoners have been jailed, including those arrested during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. These include former democratically elected legislators, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Among the most prominent political prisoners are the media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, and human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung. Chow Hang-tung, 40, has been imprisoned since 2021 for her role leading an annual vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, serving multiple sentences. She is charged with inciting subversion under the NSL and has been detained for more than 1,000 days. Jimmy Lai, 77, a British citizen, has been in solitary confinement for more than 1,600 days, held for more than 23 hours a day with no natural light and permitted less than an hour a day for physical exercise. He has been denied the right to independent medical treatment and his first choice of legal counsel, and his international legal team at Doughty Street Chambers have been subjected to rape and death threats and harassment. Jimmy Lai has been arbitrarily detained by the Hong Kong authorities on several occasions, including for 13 months for simply lighting a candle and saying a prayer at a vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He is currently on trial under Hong Kong's draconian NSL, imposed by Beijing in 2020, and could face life imprisonment. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that both Jimmy Lai and Chow Hang-tung are human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained and should be immediately released. Last week, 22 former political prisoners, hostages, and their relatives sent an open letter to the British prime minister Keir Starmer urging him to act to secure Jimmy Lai's release. Fortify Rights' Senior Director Benedict Rogers attended the press conference at which several of the signatories released the letter. The Safeguarding National Security Regulation may result in further violations of human rights, in addition to the violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and other freedoms already perpetrated under the 2020 NSL and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. If the Chinese authorities prosecute, convict and imprison Hong Kong national security cases in mainland China, the right of defendants to fair trial, and to freedom from arbitrary arrest or disappearance, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, forced labor, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), will be significantly undermined. Although China is not a party to the ICCPR, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Basic Law and Bill of Rights incorporate the ICCPR into Hong Kong law and therefore these new regulations violate Hong Kong's obligations under its own domestic law and international law. 'There is a grave risk that Jimmy Lai could die in jail,' said Benedict Rogers. 'The international community, particularly the United Kingdom, has a responsibility to act urgently to secure his release. We urge world leaders to increase pressure on China to free Jimmy Lai, and to spell out the consequences for the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong if they refuse to do so.'
