National Security Act

All news and posts of our editorial team on the topic

Hong Kong: Length of prison sentences confirmed
The Hong Kong High Court has ruled that prison sentences imposed under the National Security Law cannot be reduced. When defining the length of sentences, the law “imposed minimum jail terms for serious offenses,” the judges said, according to AFP.Earlier, Lui Sai-yu, a student sentenced to five years in prison for “inciting secession,” appealed the […] continue reading →
Hong Kong also hunts down opposition abroad
Three years after the implementation of the National Security Law, Hong Kong is issuing bounties on exiles. continue reading →
Lady of Liberty in Frankfurt
Civil rights activists have displayed a symbolic remnant of the Hong Kong protest movement in Frankfurt. The association, Hongkonger in Germany, presented the severed head of the Lady of Liberty on Saturday. The statue symbolizes a demonstrator wearing a hard hat, goggles and a gas mask.Hongkongers in Germany intended their display as a reminder of […] continue reading →
Hong Kong to restrict the work of foreign lawyers
Hong Kong politicians want to make further drastic changes to the city’s less and less independent legislation. At Beijing’s behest, the Justice Department proposed a corresponding tightening of the current legal situation. According to the proposal, it would be up to the city’s head of government to admit or exclude foreign lawyers from trials in […] continue reading →
Trial against 47 activists begins in Hong Kong
The biggest trial to date since the controversial National Security Act came into force has started in Hong Kong. 47 democracy activists are accused of “conspiracy to subvert state power“. They allegedly organized unofficial primaries before the general election.The trial is considered a test of how independent the justice system in the Special Administrative Region […] continue reading →
Vatican allows Beijing to elect bishop
China and the Vatican reached an agreement. As was announced over the weekend, a secret agreement from 2018 was extended. In it, the Vatican allows the Chinese government to elect bishops on the Mainland which will then be approved by Rome. According to reports, the deal has been extended for two years.“After appropriate consultation and […] continue reading →
Hong Kong: compliant in principle
Parallel to the National Party Congress in Beijing, Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee delivers the first keynote speech of his term in office. The former police officer plans to create housing and solve the shortage of skilled workers. But the central element remains national security, which brought large parts of the political opposition behind bars. continue reading →
New sentences in Hong Kong
Hong Kong courts have been making ample use of the broad legal framework of the National Security Act lately. On Saturday, a court sentenced five teenagers, aged between 16 and 19, to three-year prison terms. The defendants had called for a coup on social media, Judge Kwok Wai-kin ruled. They sought a “revolution” to remove […] continue reading →
‘There are still people who want to move to Hong Kong’
Johannes Hack, President of the German Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, criticizes the uncertainty caused by the Covid policy of the last couple of years. Mainland China is building the walls around itself higher and higher. On the one hand, this could again strengthen Hong Kong's status. But because foreigners from Hong Kong can no longer travel freely to China, the island becomes increasingly unattractive. The interview was conducted by Ning Wang. continue reading →
Apple Daily: Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty
Six high-ranking employees of the defunct Hong Kong daily Apple Daily accept charges of conspiring with foreign forces based on the National Security Law. Only its founder, renowned government critic Jimmy Lai, pleaded not guilty at a public hearing in the city’s High Court on Monday. Prosecutors accuse the seven journalists of openly inciting foreign […] continue reading →
Hong Kong activists plead guilty
According to local authorities in Hong Kong, 29 of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with “conspiracy and subversion” under the National Security Act have pleaded guilty. Among them are well-known political leaders such as Joshua Wong and Benny Tai. Eighteen other defendants pleaded not guilty.It is still unclear what sentence the Hong Kong High Court […] continue reading →
Renewed population decline in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is currently experiencing its steepest population decline since record-keeping began in 1961, with the number of residents dropping by 1.6 percent year-on-year to 7,291,600 by mid-2022, according to the statistics bureau. More people have left than moved in.The reasons cited by the government were a lower influx of new workers as a result […] continue reading →
Hong Kong activist Samuel Chu: ‘I have taken the movement to the White House’
Samuel Chu is one of the last activists of the Hong Kong democracy movement with direct political influence. In the US Congress, his political work has even been so successful that Hong Kong authorities issued an arrest warrant against him based on the National Security Act – the first one ever issued against a US citizen. Chu's new goal: Bringing the Tiananmen artwork "Pillar Of Shame" to Berlin and committing the protest movement to long-term strategies. Fabian Peltsch spoke with Samuel Chu. continue reading →
Harsh criticism of Hong Kong’s security law
The UN Human Rights Council’s CCPR Commission of Experts has urged the Hong Kong government to revoke the National Security Act. The commission expressed grave concern over the arbitrary application of the new legal framework introduced in 2020 in its latest report on Wednesday. The National Security Law takes precedence over other local laws and […] continue reading →
EU Parliament: Authorities should release Cardinal Zen
The European Parliament addresses the arrest of Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong in its current session week. MEPs will debate with the EU Commission on Wednesday about the current situation in Hong Kong and the arrest of the 90-year-old cleric and members of the “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” at the end of […] continue reading →
Zero-Covid: Criminals exploit Hong Kong’s isolation
For German companies, the situation in Hong Kong is hardly tolerable. Apart from the repressive Security Law, the strict Covid restrictions are a major problem for them. These make business trips almost impossible. That is why more and more become victims of fraud. A business lawyer reports. continue reading →
Protest and arrests over Tiananmen vigil in Hong Kong
The Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong has criticized the behavior of Western diplomats in Hong Kong. In a letter released on Sunday, the commissioner’s office expressed its “strong disapproval and firm opposition”. “In disregard of China’s solemn position and advance warning, your office repeated the wrong deeds of last year and […] continue reading →
Cardinal Zen arrested in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's Cardinal Joseph Zen has been a thorn in the side of both the Vatican and the Communist Party over the past few years. He supported the city's protest movement and criticized the Catholic Church for a "bad deal" with the People's Republic. On Wednesday, the 90-year-old was arrested on charges of conspiring with foreign forces - just three days after former Security Chief John Lee was elected as the city's next Chief Executive. continue reading →