HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday urged opponents of Beijing’s plan to impose national security legislation in the financial hub to stop “smearing” the effort, saying those who did were “the enemy of the people”.
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, holds a news conference in Beijing, China, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Beijing last month announced a plan to introduce legislation in Hong Kong to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference. The law could see Chinese security agencies set up bases in the city for the first time.
Critics see the law as the most serious threat to a “one country, two systems” formula, agreed when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 to protect its freedoms and role as a global financial centre.
The Chinese government and Lam’s Beijing-backed city administration say the law will not curtail freedoms and will only target a small number of “troublemakers” and help bring stability after a year of anti-government protests.
“I urge opponents who still use the usual tactics t