Legal experts fear China's national security law will stifle freedoms
Experts say scope of the draft law is too broad and vague to address 'unprecedented security risks' and could be used to justify suppression
China's new national security law in the making has stoked fears it will bolster state power to further restrict ordinary citizens’ freedoms and tighten ideological control.
The legislation on state security was tabled in December at the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and will remain high on its agenda this year.
This is taking place against the backdrop of President Xi Jinping’s repeated warnings of “unprecedented security risks” faced by the country and the creation of the national security commission more than a year ago, that is headed by Xi.
In January, a Politburo meeting chaired by Xi endorsed a national security strategy blueprint and emphasised national security must be under “the absolute leadership of the Communist Party’s efficient and unified command”. Xi told officials to take pre-emptive steps to prevent “all kinds of risks” to national security.
According to Xinhua, the draft law states that “national security” means that the regime, sovereignty, national unification, territorial integrity, people’s welfare and the “sustainable and healthy development” of its economy and society as well as other unspecified “major interests” should be "relatively free from danger and not under internal and external threats”.
It will replace the old national security law that has been renamed the counter-espionage law.