China has passed Hong Kong's new fundamental law

The contents of the law are not yet clear, although the entry into force is already scheduled for July 1st. The autonomy of the city-state and the activities of the protesters will however be definitively compromised

(Photo by TPG / Getty Images) The legislative process for the approval of the national security law wanted by the China to operate greater control over Hong Kong. The rule will enter into force immediately - some commentators cite the date of July 1 - since it has already received the final go-ahead from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the highest legislative body in Beijing. The contents of the law are still unclear: however, it is known that acts of "sedition, subversion and secession", "foreign interference in local affairs" and any "terrorist action" will be prohibited. What Hong Kong citizens don't know is how these goals will be pursued. Most likely, a national security management commission will be set up, controlled directly by China, and severe prison sentences will be enacted for violators.

The consequences of the law

National security law The degree of autonomy with which Hong Kong was accustomed to enjoying China will change forever. The one country two system principle - according to which Hong Kong formally belongs to China despite having its own political and administrative order - is being undermined from the ground up. “A national security law was imposed in Hong Kong through a process in which no one in Hong Kong participated, with content that no one knows about. This marks the end of Hong Kong's autonomy, "said Alvin Cheung, a law expert at the New York University US-Asia Law Institute.

Who will be affected by this change will surely be the pro-democracy activists who for over a year now manifest to ask for more rights. The purpose of the new rule is precisely to quell these protests: not only because, according to what is claimed by the propaganda of the chinese authorities, would be sobillate by foreign powers with the aim of weakening Beijing, but first of all, because they are a threat to the image of the Dragon. The New York Times explains that the intelligence services of the chinese will be able to work more freely than in the past, and this will have serious consequences to both the individual protesters, punished with sentences that are very severe , or entire movements that could be declared outlaws. Already in the last few months, in fact, some leaders of the protests have abandoned their public activity . “The goal of the chinese authorities, by this time, it's to govern Hong Kong through the fear,” stressed the spokesman of Amnesty International in China, to Joshua Rosenzweig.

The control of Hong Kong after the beginning of the first demonstrations, it has become one of the priorities of Xi Jinping , despite the China has significant internal issues to resolve, such as the coronavirus and an important economic recession. To prove this there is the rapidity with which the law was passed, despite considerable international pressure. The Usa have already announced restrictions on the visas of some of the chinese officials, and has blocked exports of equipment for the defence of Hong Kong. The United Kingdom had already made available to allow the british passport to the citizens of the region and its administration have the right (about 3 million). Taiwan – which China does not recognize as an independent state and is in relations very tense, with Beijing – has set up a special office in the country to help those who want to escape from Hong Kong and move to the island.