162 members of National People’s Congress Standing Committee back legislation, and law could come into effect on Wednesday
All Hong Kong delegates to nation’s two top political bodies to attend session at liaison office on Tuesday afternoon
June 30:
Beijing’s top legislative body has unanimously passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong prohibiting acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
The law, approved by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on Tuesday, is expected to carry a maximum penalty of life in jail.
Sources told the Post the law was approved unanimously by the standing committee’s 162 members, within 15 minutes of the meeting starting at 9am.
Only a handful of Hong Kong delegates to the national legislature saw a draft of the law before its passage, a major point of contention, with many in the city decrying the lack of transparency given the legislation’s far-reaching consequences.
US Senate passes bill that could punish China for Hong Kong national security law
US Senate passes bill that could punish China for Hong Kong national security law
On Sunday, the standing committee began a special meeting fast-tracking the bill, which was passed on the last day of the three-day session.
The Post has been told the Basic Law Committee, which advises Beijing on Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, would meet “immediately after the standing committee passed the law to discuss its insertion into Annex III of the Basic Law”.
A source familiar with the situation had said Xinhua, the official state news agency, would publish the details later, marking the first time the law is fully disclosed to the public.
