National security law: tough new reality for Hong Kong as offenders face maximum sentence of life in jail
- The four offences under the new law, adopted at 11pm on Tuesday, carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment
- Xi Jinping signed legislation just over a month after the bill was first introduced by the central government
President Xi Jinping signed the law – criminalising the four acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign and external forces to jeopardise national security – just over a month after the bill was first introduced by the central government.
Details of the new law, which sees both Beijing and the local government involved in enforcement, reveal the broad demarcation of jurisdictions, a source of much debate earlier among legal scholars.
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Beijing passes national security law for Hong Kong
These are serious cases that involve the “complicated situations” of interference by foreign and external forces; cases in which the Hong Kong government cannot effectively enforce the legislation; and those in which national security is under “serious and realistic threats”.
Hong Kong national security law full text