Posted 3/20/2024, 9:31:13 AM
Hong Kong Passes Controversial National Security Law Despite Criticism Over Eroding Freedoms
- Western leaders, UN, and rights groups criticize Hong Kong's new national security law, saying it erodes freedoms further
- Law unanimously passed by Hong Kong's pro-Beijing parliament, targets offenses like treason
- Allows closed trials, 16-day detention without charge, life sentences; critics say encourages "informant culture"
- China defends law as essential for stability, hits back at external interference
- Hong Kong activists say law brings city closer to mainland China system, ends "one country, two systems"