London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

Two Sessions 2020: Beijing will not be swayed over national security law for Hong Kong, China’s vice-premier tells delegates

Decision was reached after taking into account the interests of the country and city, local deputy to legislature quotes Han Zheng as saying. Law will only affect three groups – pro-independence activists, violent radicals and protesters seeking to derail economy, according to top official

Beijing’s determination to implement a new national security law for Hong Kong must not be underestimated, as the decision was reached after careful consideration of the interests of the country and city, Vice-Premier Han Zheng told local deputies to China’s legislature on Sunday.

Han’s remarks came amid growing concern both in Hong Kong and the international community over the move, and hours before police fired rounds of tear gas as thousands of residents took to the city’s streets in protest. The law, which would be passed without scrutiny by the local legislature, would allow mainland agencies to operate in the city as needed, and require the Hong Kong government to establish new institutions to safeguard national security.

Han, the state leader overseeing Hong Kong and Macau affairs, met the local delegation to the National People’s Congress [NPC] at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.



“Don’t underestimate Beijing’s determination. When the decision is made, we will implement it till the end,” the delegation’s deputy convenor, Wong Yuk-shan, quoted the leader as saying. “Han stressed that the move was made after careful deliberation, taking into account the long-term interests of Hong Kong, and more importantly, of the state and the nation.”

State broadcaster CCTV reported Han as saying the law would target only a small faction of people who advocated Hong Kong independence and the “dark forces” behind them. The term is used by Beijing to refer to supposed overseas support for the anti-government movement.

According to sources from the meeting, Han said only three groups would be affected – pro-independence activists, violent radicals and protesters seeking to derail the city’s economy with a mentality of “if we burn, you burn with us”.

CCTV reported the vice-premier also offered assurances on the “one country, two systems” framework governing relations between the city and the central government, saying Beijing would fully implement the policy, as well as the principle of “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong”, with a high degree of autonomy.

At a press conference in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was asked whether the central government was worried the United States would impose sanctions on Hong Kong over the legislation.

“Hong Kong affairs are China’s domestic affairs … and defending national security is the responsibility of the central government in any country,” Wang said. “The decision made by the National People’s Congress … would not affect Hong Kong residents’ rights and freedom, or foreign investors’ legitimate interest in Hong Kong.”

Earlier more than 200 parliamentarians and policymakers from 23 countries issued a joint statement condemning Beijing’s decision, saying “the integrity of one country, two systems hangs by a thread”.

A source who attended the meeting in Beijing said Han argued national security laws in Britain and the United States were “more stringent” than the one slated for Hong Kong.

Brave Chan Yung, another NPC delegate, quoted Han as saying: “The central government’s decision is a responsible one for all Chinese people, the nation and its history … History will make the accurate judgment.”

In 2003, the Hong Kong government was forced to shelve a national security law bill after an estimated half a million people took to the streets in opposition, amid fears it would curb rights and freedoms.

“It is not a replacement, and the Hong Kong government should continue to enact its own law to fulfil its constitutional responsibility,” NPC deputy Witman Hung Wai-man quoted the vice-premier as saying of Beijing’s proposal.

Han also called on local delegates to support Chief Executive Carrie Cheng Yuet-ngor and the government in tackling deep-rooted issues facing the city, namely housing, education and growing income inequality. But the more immediate concern is promoting the new law in a language the public can understand, according to Hung.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China staged a demonstration outside Beijing’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun to call attention to the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989, and to oppose the proposed law.

An alliance of pro-Beijing groups, led by lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king, announced they would set up street booths to collect signatures in support of the law.

A survey carried out by a pro-establishment group between Friday and Sunday found that 65 per cent of respondents agreed Hong Kong had a responsibility to protect national security. Some 26 per cent of respondents disagreed, according to the poll conducted by an institute under the pro-Beijing Bauhinia Magazine.

Fifty-four per cent agreed that the city was under the influence of foreign forces and pro-independence powers colluding together, while 34 disagreed.




Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
×