Hong Kong’s national security law: 3 years on, more than 160 prosecutions, 8 bounties later, what else can the city expect?
- Most arrests still linked to 2019 social unrest, so law will be used less frequently after this phase, sources say
- Jimmy Lai’s trial and handling of 47 opposition activists will be closely watched on how law is shaping out
“Rats in the streets”, “turtles with heads in shells” and “eaters of human-flesh buns” – these are among choice descriptions Hong Kong officials have thrown at a group of eight activists now operating overseas.
The announcement was followed by multiple arrests of local activists accused of raising funds to support the overseas community. Both events pushed Hong Kong back into the international limelight in the past week, overshadowing the government’s ongoing global campaign to attract tourists and talent.
Western politicians launched more attacks on the city’s leadership as they voiced concerns over the law’s long-arm jurisdiction, while Beijing officials accused them of sheltering fugitives.
Analysts say the latest actions reflect a new focus of the law’s application as the Beijing-imposed national security law passed its three-year-mark: targeting the growing community of dissidents overseas and their affiliates at home.
A Post analysis of the 265 related arrests over the past three years also points to a shifting pattern of police targets – from accusing big names of crimes stipulated in the national security law in the first two years, to going after suspects using a colonial-era sedition law in the past year.
The roughly 30 arrests made in the past 12 months for alleged national security offences is also less than the number of people detained over them since 2020.
A senior government source said the authorities hoped “in one or two years”, once existing prosecutions were settled, there would not be “too many cases”.