This page discusses the local effects and enforcement of the
Hong Kong national security law
The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...
following its enactment on 30 June 2020.
Governmental
On 1 July, the
was established by the Hong Kong government.
On 8 July, the
Civil Service Bureau
The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) is one of the 15 policy bureaux under the Government Secretariat of the Government of Hong Kong and is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies on the management of the Hong Kong Civil Servi ...
submitted a proposal that would require all civil servants, employed from July 1, to pledge allegiance to the city and the
Basic Law, in alignment with the national security law.
Elections
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs is the head of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau in Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for promoting the Basic Law, constitutional affairs, electoral development, and ...
Erick Tsang
Erick Tsang Kwok-wai (; born 1 September 1963) is a Hong Kong government official. Since 2020, he has been Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, one of the principal officials of Hong Kong. Prior to that, he was Director of Imm ...
stated in an interview with
Oriental Daily
''Oriental Daily News'' is a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong. It was established in 1969 by Ma Sik-yu and Ma Sik-chun, and was one of the two newspapers published by the Oriental Press Group Limited (). Relative to other Hong Kong ...
News that organizers of the primaries for the
2020 Hong Kong legislative election
The 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was originally scheduled on 6 September 2020 until it was postponed by the government. On 31 July 2020, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she was invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinan ...
by the
pro-democracy camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...
and the candidates may breach the newly Beijing-enacted National Security Law articles 20, 22, and 29. On Friday 10 July, before the primaries on the weekends, police raided the office of co-organisers Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI), taking away computers and accusing the organisation of dishonest use of a computer. PORI director
Robert Chung
Dr. Robert Chung ( zh, t=鍾庭耀, j=Zung1 Ting4-jiu6) is a Hong Kong academic. He is president and chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, an independent institute since May 2019 and the successor organisati ...
said that the primaries will still be held, and computers related to the primaries were not taken away.
Law enforcement
In a statement, the
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...
said that they would consider illegal any flag or banner raised by protesters deemed to be promoting Hong Kong's separation from China, along with Tibetan, Xinjang and Taiwan independence.
The police was granted new powers, including the ability to conduct searches for evidence without a warrant in "exceptional circumstances", to restrict persons suspected of violating the national security law from leaving Hong Kong, and to take down electronic messages published that are "likely to constitute an offence endangering national security or is likely to cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security".
On 1 July, the police used a new banner to warn protesters against "displaying flags or banners/chanting slogans/or conducting yourselves with an intent such as secession or subversion, which may constitute offenses” under the new law, and that they “may be arrested and prosecuted.” On 2 July, the Hong Kong government issued a statement declaring the slogan "
Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times
"Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" (; also translated variously) is a slogan used by social movements in Hong Kong. The slogan was first used in 2016 by Hong Kong Indigenous spokesman Edward Leung as his campaign theme and slogan fo ...
" as having separatist and subversive connotations, and that it may seek to prosecute those displaying or chanting the slogan under the new law.
The
was established as a state security agency on 1 July. The Office, together with its employees' living quarters, is located in the
Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay Hong Kong building. Separately, the Department for Safeguarding National Security, under the Police Force, was established on the same day.
Arrests and charges
The first arrest under the national security law was made on 1 July, less than 15 hours after the text for the law was published.
A man was arrested for allegedly holding a Hong Kong independence flag in Causeway Bay. On the same day, nine others were arrested on suspicion of violating the national security law. They included people who were calling for independence, or possessing items advocating independence.
On 3 July, a man arrested on 1 July who allegedly drove a motorbike into a group of three police officers while flying a “Liberate Hong Kong” banner was charged with one count of inciting secession and another of terrorism. He became the first person to be formally charged under the new law. His case was also the first case involving the National Security Law to reach trial.
On 6 July, 2 more were arrested under the national security law during a protest where protesters held out blank papers. A person, calling the police "dirty cops", was warned that they were in violation of the new law.
Political exiles since the enactment
Nathan Law
On 2 July 2020, Nathan Law posted on his social media page that he has left Hong Kong. Later it was known that Law settled in the United Kingdom.
Ted Hui
On 3 December 2020, Ted Hui, while in Denmark, announced that he would not return to Hong Kong.
Cultural
On 4 July, it was discovered that at least nine books authored or co-authored by pro-democratic figures, including
Joshua Wong
Joshua Wong Chi-fung (; born 13 October 1996) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He served as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosistō until it disbanded following the implementation of the Hong Kong national security la ...
and
Tanya Chan
Tanya Chan (; born 14 September 1971) is a Hong Kong politician who served as a Legislative Councillor representing Hong Kong Island from 2008 to 2012, and again from 2016 to 2020. She is a founding member of the Civic Party. Chan is sometimes kn ...
, have been removed from public libraries. The
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultura ...
, responsible for running the libraries, said in a statement that the libraries "will review whether certain books violate the stipulations of the National Security Law," and that "while legal advice will be sought in the process of the review, the books will not be available for borrowing and reference in libraries." Before the law was enacted, exhibitors of the 2020
Hong Kong Book Fair
The Hong Kong Book Fair () is a book fair organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, held annually (usually in the middle of July) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, selling and exhibiting books, printed matter, ...
, to be opened on 15 July, were urged by the
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includin ...
, the organiser, to exercise “self-discipline” and avoid selling “unlawful” books. After the law was enacted and books removed from libraries, some exhibitors have stated that they will not sell the books that are being reviewed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Local magazine ''Breakazine'' stopped the publication of its July issue, as the publisher seeks legal opinion on whether the latest issue would be in violation of the new law. Political commentator Koo Tak Ming ended his regular contributions to
Apple Daily
''Apple Daily'' ( zh, link=no, 蘋果日報) was a popular tabloid published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it was one of the best-selling Chinese language newspapers in Hong Kong. in response to the new law.
Education
On 3 July,
Hong Kong Education Bureau sent a late night notice to all schools in Hong Kong demanding that the newly enacted national security legislation will be taught and enforced in all public and private schools, including special education schools, in every single grade level starting in Kindergarten. The Bureau will support developing curriculum and assessment, the notice stated, and requests all stake holders – educators, administrators, social workers – work together to "enhance national identity". On 6 July, the Education Bureau has ordered schools to review and remove items from their curriculum and libraries that violate the newly enacted national security law, unless these books are to "positively teach" students. Critics of the national security law have long seen the national security law as a tool to silence dissent. The Education Bureau further reaffirmed to
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
that because schools are the "gatekeepers" for their teaching resources, therefore school management and teachers should review "all teaching materials, including books" that may violate the national security law.
On 8 July, Education Bureau minister
Kevin Yeung
Kevin Yeung Yun-hung (; born 26 January 1963) is a Hong Kong government official. He is the current Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, serving since 2022.
He graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Social Sciences ...
stated in a written response that pro-democracy protest-related activities such as forming human chains or chanting songs, specifically the protest anthem "
Glory to Hong Kong
"Glory to Hong Kong" ( zh, t=願榮光歸香港) is a march that was composed and written by a musician under the pseudonym "Thomas dgx yhl", with the contribution of a group of Hongkonger netizens from the online forum LIHKG during the 20 ...
", are banned in all schools. Whereas Article 27 of Hong Kong Basic Law guarantees citizens' freedom of speech, of "assembly, of procession and of demonstration", Yeung concluded that children's right to free expression "is not absolute" and requested that schools take action to prevent such "violations" from occurring.
Technological
In response to the law,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
,
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
WhatsApp
WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows use ...
and
Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
temporarily paused the processing of government requests for user data in Hong Kong, while video-sharing platform
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version o ...
, owned by Beijing-based
ByteDance
ByteDance Ltd. () is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Founded by Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo and a team of others in 2012, ByteDance developed the video-sharing social network ...
, announced its discontinuation of Hong Kong operations.
See also
* Timeline of reactions to the Hong Kong national security law
**
October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôc ...
,
November,
December
December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was or ...
2020
**
January,
February,
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
,
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days.
April is commonly associated with ...
,
May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...
,
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
,
July
July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...
,
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...
,
September–November 2021
References
{{2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
Politics of Hong Kong
Hong Kong national security law