Wednesday briefing: Hong Kong’s sweeping new security laws
The sweeping security laws deal another blow to Hong Kong
Hong-Kong has passed national security laws at the behest of Beijing. The legislation, known as the Article 23 laws, will thwart decades of public resistance. Critics said the move would deal a lasting blow to the partial autonomy China had promised the city.
The first attempts to pass such legislation, in 2003, caused massive protests. Top officials resigned and city leaders were reluctant to raise the issue again in subsequent years, fearing public backlash. A previous national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 effectively suppressed street protests. This time the streets of Hong Kong were quiet.
I spoke to Tiffany May, who covers Hong Kong for The Times.
Amelia: How will these laws impact Hong Kong?
Tiffany: Whether it makes things better or worse depends on who you ask.
Hong Kong has been an Asian financial center for decades as it was seen as a gateway to business opportunities on the mainland, with an independent judiciary as its backbone. It also enjoyed freedoms unthinkable in the rest of the country.
But in recent years the city has been watching China’s crackdown more closely. The new national security law, known as Article 23 legislation, targets ambiguous crimes such as “external interference” and “theft of state secrets.”
Critics say this could cool any criticism of China entail new risks for international business operationseroding the very freedoms that had made the city an international business center.
How is this law different from the national security law passed in 2020?
The new safety laws increase the reach of the violations that endanger national security. They also introduce important changes to due process. In some cases, police can now seek permission from magistrates to prevent suspects from consulting lawyers of their choice if this is considered a threat to national security.
Analysts said this could have a chilling effect on entrepreneurs, civil servants, lawyers, diplomats, journalists and academics. The punishment for political crimes such as treason and rebellion includes life imprisonment.
Why was this pushed by the government?
China is at a point where it feels constantly under attack from the West.
The country’s top leader, Xi Jinping, sees national security legislation as necessary to protect China from what he sees as unfair trade practices, the infiltration of spies and other types of security threats. This year, Beijing emphasized that it would prioritize both economic growth and security, and in February it updated a state secrets law.
Analysts say he is taking a similar approach with Hong Kong. Chinese officials have urged Hong Kong’s leaders to pass the city’s own security laws as soon as possible. Hong Kong’s top leader John Lee said swift passage of the law would allow the government to focus on rebuilding the economy.
Japan raised interest rates after years of sub-zero borrowing
The Japanese central bank interest rates increased for the first time in seventeen years. The move comes amid a surge in inflation and rising wages, suggesting Japan’s economy can grow without such aggressive stimulus measures.
It brought borrowing costs below zero in 2016, an unorthodox attempt to boost borrowing and lending. This slight increase will raise rates a series zero to 0.1 percent, but it could have a dramatic symbolic effect, said my colleague Joe Rennison, who reports on financial markets.
“I think this is a signal that prices aren’t going to drop again anytime soon,” Joe said. He noted that the wage increases showed a change in attitudes. People think they can no longer wait out inflation, so they ask for more money.
Global context: The interest rate is lower than that of the central banks in the US and the EU. Japan’s central bank is the latest major institution to abandon its negative interest rate policy, introduced after the 2008 financial crisis.
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