Hong Kong Article 23: Basic rights threatened as law enacted, critics charge

Hong Kong enacted a measure that critics charge will further stifle free expression in a city that until recently was known for its freewheeling style, aggressive media and politically active populace.

HONG KONG — When Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing assured the former colonial power that civil liberties in the city would be preserved.

On Saturday, Hong Kong enacted a measure that critics charge will further stifle free expression in a city that until recently was known for its freewheeling style, aggressive media and politically active populace.

The bill, called the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance but also referred to as the Article 23 law, took effect following unanimous approval earlier this week by Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature, where it was deliberated over and passed in a record 11 days.

Article 23 is designed to supplement an earlier national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, one that critics say supercharged the erosion of civil liberties here.

“This is the bill that basically creates crimes against everything,” Kevin Yam, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Asian Law, told NBC News in an interview from Australia.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-article-23-rights-threatened-law-enacted-rcna144396

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