Wednesday, July 07, 2021

One Year of China's Hong Kong Security Law | DW News

Jun 30, 2021 • Global rights group Amnesty International sharply criticized the national security law the Chinese government imposed on Hong Kong one year ago. It has created a "human rights emergency" in the city, it said.

Hong Kong authorities have been using the law to target dissent and justify "censorship, harassment, arrests and prosecutions that violate human rights," Amnesty added.

"In one year, the National Security Law has put Hong Kong on a rapid path to becoming a police state and created a human rights emergency for the people living there," Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said.

China introduced the controversial national security law a year ago to crack down on what it deems subversion, secessionism, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Beijing insisted the measure was needed to restore stability in Hong Kong, which witnessed huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. But rights activists and critics of the Chinese government view it as a means for Beijing to impose its will on Hong Kong and crush dissent.