Hong Kong police on Sunday used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters against the Chinese parliament considering a national security bill in a special administrative region, the South China Morning Post reported.
Hong Kong’s National Security Bill is on the agenda of the All-China People’s Assembly (NPC) session that opened Friday. The head of the Hong Kong administration, Carrie Lam, supported the consideration of the bill, saying that its adoption would not affect the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents.
Several thousand people protested in the streets of Causeway Bay, claiming that the bill proposed by the Chinese parliament threatens civil liberties and the principle of “one country, two systems”.
After the warning, the police applied gas at about 13.25 local time (8.25 Moscow time).
As the South China Morning Post previously reported, the National Security Bill, designed specifically for Hong Kong, will include a ban on subversive and separatist activities. According to the sources of the publication, the law provides for a ban on all types of incitement aimed at overthrowing the central government, as well as terrorism and outside interference.
According to the source, the central government came to the conclusion that the Hong Kong Legislative Assembly is not able to pass a bill on national security, taking into account the political climate in the area, so the legislative initiative was submitted to the NPC.