Analysts are concerned about city’s eroding uniqueness, but others welcomed ‘real protection’ .
Hong Kong’s business professionals welcomed its home-grown security legislation, while political analysts expressed concern that it may erode the city’s uniqueness, ahead of the new law taking effect on March 23.
Back then, the authorities catered for a combined 10 months of consultation, drafting and debate before the ordinance was expected to be passed into law. But fears that people’s rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Basic Law would be compromised resulted in the Bill being dropped after half a million Hong Kongers took to the streets in protest.
“We must correctly understand that there must be ‘one country’ before ‘two systems’, and the ‘two systems’ must not be used to resist ‘one country’,” Mr Lee said after the passage of the legislation. “Without the role of a distinct space within the PRC, Hong Kong will be more exposed to the same forces of slower growth, divestment, and diversification that the PRC is facing... Such dynamics were already in motion; the trajectory only becomes clearer with the new legislation.”
But Prof Burns said the haste with which the Bill was passed could raise questions about the legislature’s role, as lawmakers might not have thoroughly scrutinised or adequately debated opposition views surrounding vague key terms in the ordinance. Other Hong Kong-based political analysts contacted by ST declined to comment on the new law, citing fear of backlash over their views.
“One major offence in the law covers external interference, or colluding with foreign forces. Hong Kong-based foreign media may have to reassess their risk, presence and coverage here. Local institutions, too, will become more cautious in forging ties and collaborations with international organisations to avoid crossing the political red lines.”
She referenced a 2023 case where Hong Kong businessman Eric Chu offloaded a hotel, luxury homes and a half-built development at huge losses after his Vietnamese wife, Truong My Lan, was accused of masterminding Vietnam’s biggest financial scam amounting to US$12 billion .
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