Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, and theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of to up to 16 days, suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, and penalties can involve up to life in prison. Its legislation failed in 2003 following mass protests and it remained taboo until 2024 when it was fast-tracked at the city’s opposition-free legislature. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” But authorities cite perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.
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