The pro-Beijing legislature in Hong Kong has passed new security laws under Article 23 of the Basic Law. International observers charge the new legislation will further silence opposition voices and further erode the autonomy Hong Kong was promised in 1997, when Britain handed over Hong Kong’s governance to China. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United Sates is “alarmed by the sweeping and what we interpret as vaguely defined provisions” laid out in the Article 23 legislation.
The new laws were passed twenty years after similar legislation was attempted by pro-PRC authorities. But that attempt caused hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers to take to the streets in protest, and the legislation was withdrawn. In 2020, the PRC imposed the National Security Law, or NSL, on Hong Kong, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of scores of democracy advocates, civil society activists, opposition political figures, as well as to the closure of independent media outlets. Estimates are that some 500,000 people have left Hong Kong since the NSL was imposed.
The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong keeps a tally it calls “Bearing Witness.” According to the Consulate, since the NSL went into effect, 237 people have been arrested for national security offenses; 135 people and organizations have been formally charged with national security crimes; and 90 people have been found guilty, as of February 29, 2024. Now, with the new Article 23 legislation, authorities have another, even more wide-ranging weapon to wield against dissent.
Principal Deputy Secretary Patel told reporters, “This was fast-tracked through the nondemocratically elected legislative council after a truncated public comment period:”
”We also believe that a lot of the phrasing and crimes that are outlined are poorly defined and incredibly vague. They use phrases such as ‘external interference,’ which is incredibly vague. So we are analyzing the legislation and we are taking a look at what the potential risk could be to not just U.S. citizens, but other American interests that we might have.”
“We’re not going to hesitate to call out those responsible for the erosion of Hong Kong’s promised autonomy,” Spokesperson Patel declared. And the United States, he added, will not hesitate to use other actions at its disposal, “should circumstances require it.”
