Chief Executive Carrie Lam called sweeping new national security legislation the “most important development” in relations between Hong Kong and China since the city’s handover.
The law came into force just ahead of the July 1 anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China from British rule in 1997, a symbolic occasion usually marked by mass protests against Beijing. An appeals panel upheld an unprecedented police ban against a Civil Human Rights Front rally planned for Wednesday, although some activists said they would march anyway.
The legislation, which was published in full only as it took effect, called for sentences as long as life in prison for the most serious cases of terrorism, secession, subversion of state power and collusion with foreign forces. Earlier Tuesday, President Xi Jinping personally signed an order promulgating the legislation. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “deeply concerned” about the law, and Australia said it was “troubled.” The Trump administration vowed “strong actions.”
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