China drafts national security law for Hong Kong

As the waning pandemic leads to signs that the protest movement is resuming, China is moving to draft new national security legislation and incorporate it into Hong Kong's Basic Law, bypassing the territory's Legislative Council. Elections for the Council are due to be held in September, and Chinese officials are concerned that they could lose its pro-Beijing majority. Under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's government and legislature were required to enact and pass national security legislation after the 1997 transition to Chinese sovereignty, but an attempt in 2003 led to mass protests and had to be withdrawn.

Writer: Tom Mitchell and Nicolle Liu
Publication: Financial Times