China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong and the city’s security chief have described some mass pro-democracy protests as terrorism while defending controversial national security laws for the semi-autonomous city.
Key points:
- Beijing plans to impose legislation on Hong Kong which critics say will destroy the city’s autonomy
- China’s top foreign official in Hong Kong says the laws are needed to alleviate concerns about terrorism
- Australia, Canada, and the US and UK have expressed concerns about Beijing’s proposals
Several government departments issued statements in defence of the proposal on Sunday, following some of Hong Kong’s biggest protests since the coronavirus lockdown.
The security legislation, some details of which were announced last week, aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities and could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in the semi-autonomous city.
Pro-democracy activists and politicians say the legislation could erode Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” framework, which has guaranteed the city’s civil liberties, independent judiciary and capitalist economy since the city was han