China criminalises ‘collusion’ with world to suppress dissent in Hong Kong

Top Chinese lawmakers added “collusion” with foreign forces as an offence in the draft national security law, raising fresh concerns over Beijing’s attempt to suppress dissent. Earlier, the law had criminalised activities of foreign and external forces interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong but the latest amendment punishes anyone who “colludes with foreign states” to harm the “security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” of China.

According to the current draft legislation, a person found guilty of such collusion could face a prison sentence of anywhere between 10 years to life term. In a series of tweets, Demosisto leader Joshua Wong said that Beijing clearly plans to target human rights bodies or activist groups by changing the wording of the offence.

Joshua said that those groups submitting reports on human rights backlashes to international bodies, testifying against police brutality and authoritarian rules on hearings, now face the threat of imprisonment. He added that Beijing’s move is aimed at cutting off the ties of Hong Kong with the world and punish all those who urge Beijing to uphold the city’s freedoms to the international standards.

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Concerns over extradition

Recently, a pro-Beijing politician sparked controversy claiming that China’s national security law related to Hong Kong could allow extraditions to the mainland. Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s sole representative to Beijing’s top lawmaking body, told RTHK radio in an interview that some cases involving foreign interference and diplomatic issues could be handle by the central government.

Hong Kong witnessed months-long violent pro-democracy protests against the extradition which left the city in turmoil before the pandemic took over. The city was handed over by Britain to China in 1997 under “One Country, Two Systems” agreement and Beijing agreed to provide higher autonomy to the region, including legislative and judicial independence.

However, the latest security law is being seen by critics as a death knell to Hong Kong’s autonomy and US State Secretary Mike Pompeo has already announced that the region no longer warrants special status. On June 15, a senior Chinese official said that China will have jurisdiction over “some extremely rare” national security cases in Hong Kong.

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