Japan: Chief Cabinet Sec Suga criticizes China's national security law

Japan on Wednesday criticized China's imposing new national security law in Hong Kong as undermining trust in the "one country two systems" principle.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan will coordinate with other countries to call on China to respect the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, as well as the interests of Japanese people and its businesses.

The law's passage Tuesday further blurs the distinction between the legal systems of semi-autonomous Hong Kong, which maintained aspects of British law after the 1997 handover to Chinese rule, and the mainland's authoritarian Communist Party system.

Critics say the law effectively ends the "one country, two systems" framework under which Hong Kong was promised a higher degree of autonomy than afforded to mainland China.

Under the law, those found guilty of inciting secessionist, subversive, terrorist activities and colluding with foreign forces could face life imprisonment if they are deemed masterminds of such activities.