Extremists who undermine Hong Kong’s stability claim that the National Security Act threatens people’s rights and freedoms, but there is no cause for concern.
This was told by the head of the Hong Kong administration Carrie Lam on Tuesday, May 26.
She recalled that the residents of the city for more than two decades are intimidated by the violation of their freedoms.
“We don’t need to worry”, – said the official. – “For the past 23 years, when people were worried about freedom of speech in Hong Kong, about freedom of expression and protests, Hong Kong has proved time and again that we support and preserve these values.”
Lam stressed that Hong Kong now needs legislation to ensure security.
“It’s best to see the legislation in front of us and understand why Hong Kong needs it now”, – she concluded.
As News Front reported earlier, the Chinese government is introducing national security legislation in Hong Kong. The document, among other things, criminalizes foreign interference and subversion of state power in this administrative region of China. Thus, it complicates anti-government activities here and the State Department has already demanded from Beijing not to prevent Washington from interfering in Hong Kong affairs.
On Sunday, riots broke out again in the city. The brutality of the radicals forced the security forces to disperse those using water cannons and tear gas. Over 180 particularly violent law enforcement officers were detained. The riots are expected to resume on Wednesday against the backdrop of a local parliament meeting.
Anti-government protests in Hong Kong
In June 2019, mass actions began in Hong Kong, with pogroms and clashes with police. The official reason for the protests was an extradition bill. If passed, Hong Kong could detain and extradite to Beijing those wanted by Chinese security agencies.
The demonstrators were openly supported by Western countries, particularly the US and the UK. The protests themselves continued even after the authorities refused to pass the law. The most absurd reasons were invented to hold the protests. For example, at the end of August last year, radicals smashed underground stations ostensibly because of poor quality of service, and also demolished “smart” lampposts collecting information about road traffic and air pollution levels. The fact is that the protesters saw them as a system of total surveillance by the authorities.
Actions in Hong Kong stopped amid a coronavirus pandemic and resumed in late April. In particular, a series of actions took place on 1 May, and ten days later riots with barricades and arson erupted in Hong Kong.