New Delhi: Hong Kong leader John Lee on Wednesday announced plans for the semi-autonomous city to establish its own national security law in 2024. This comes four years after Beijing imposed sweeping legislation aimed at silencing dissent, reported news agency AFP.
During a lengthy policy address that lasted over three hours, the Beijing-anointed leader presented a series of measures designed to revitalise Hong Kong's Covid-ravaged economy and address declining population growth.
Additionally, Lee emphasized the importance of protecting the Chinese city from "external forces."
"Some countries are undermining China and the implementation of 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong for their own benefits," he said, referring to the governance model agreed by Britain and China under which the city would keep some autonomy and freedoms following the 1997 handover.
"External forces continue to meddle in Hong Kong affairs," he said, according to AFP.
"We must guard against those seeking to provoke conflict... and remain alert to acts of 'soft resistance' in different forms," said Lee, using a phrase that China and Hong Kong officials have started deploying in speeches to denote anti-government actions.
In 2019, massive pro-democracy protests rocked the city, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to call for greater freedoms and more autonomy from mainland China.
In response to the protest, Beijing imposed a national security law with sentences ranging up to life in prison. As of the end of September, 280 people have been arrested and 30 convicted under the security law, reported AFP.
Security chief-turned-leader Lee said Hong Kong would "continue to safeguard national security". "The government is pressing ahead to draw up effective legislative options and will complete the legislative exercise in 2024 to fulfil our constitutional duty," Lee said.
The last legislative attempt in 2003 was shelved after half a million people took to the streets in protest.