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Hong Kong’s Article 23 law: city’s last 2 opposition parties vow to carry on amid ‘uncertain’ political climate
- League of Social Democrats and Democratic Party express concerns over domestic national security law’s sedition offences, but say they will continue with caution
- CUHK legal scholar says judge likely to define line between freedom of expression and sedition, as book store owner bemoans ambiguity of government definitions
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Hong Kong’s last two opposition parties have said they plan to keep going in the face of an “uncertain” political climate created by the new domestic national security law, as a legal scholar expects judges will help strike a balance between free speech and sedition.
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The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance will come into force on Saturday, updating the city’s offences of sedition, as well as introducing new ones that include external interference and theft of state secrets.
The League of Social Democrats was the only major opposition party to stage a protest against the legislation amid the marathon review process.
In comparison, the government’s month-long public consultation found 98.6 per cent of 13,147 submissions backed the law.
Three protesters gathered outside city government headquarters on February 27, waving a banner with the words: “human rights stand above the regime”, as dozens of police officers looked on. No one was arrested.
Party leader Chan Po-ying said the organisation had remained a frequent target of law enforcement agencies, despite “massively” downscaling its activities since Beijing imposed its own national security law on the city in 2020.
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