Hong Kong embattled leader Carrie Lam on Friday vowed to “fully cooperate” with Beijing over a national security law for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, after lawmakers introduced a draft proposal to the country’s parliament.
The plan for the law was unveiled during the opening session of China’s annual National People’s Congress on Friday and follows seven months of fierce protests in Hong Kong last year against Beijing’s rule.
The draft said the security law would “guard against, stop and punish any separatism, subversion of the national regime, terrorist group activities and such behaviours that seriously harm national security”.
Lam said in a statement that the local government will “complete the legislation as soon as possible to discharge its responsibility”.
She “firmly” believed the law was aimed at “effectively preventing and curbing actions that seriously endanger national security”.
The leader said the mass pro-democracy protests that rocked the Asian financial hub had “seriously undermined relations between the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong government, harmed national security and sovereignty, and challenged central authorities”.
On Thursday, Parliament spokesman Zhang Yesui said the chamber would consider a proposal for security legislation in Hong Kong.
The draft proposal was widely condemned by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers, activists and human rights advocates, and sent stocks tumbling in the city.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, in a strongly worded statement, warned that the law would undermine the city’s status as a business hub and worsen the risks it faced being caught in the trade war between Beijing and Washington.
Hong Kong’s opposition camp denounced Beijing’s latest move, calling it a violation of one country, two systems. Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, said it would rally its supporters against the new law.
The massive violent protests in Hong Kong started last year in June against proposals to allow extradition to mainland China, a move many feared would undermine the city’s judicial independence and endanger dissidents.
The controversial China extradition bill was withdrawn in September 2019 but the movement has morphed into a wider campaign for greater democracy and against alleged police brutality.
(With inputs from agency)