Hong Kong authorities urged to do more to explain proposed domestic security law, tackle concerns among international community

Hong Kong authorities should do more to explain their proposed domestic security legislation to address persistent concerns among the international community and prevent any misunderstanding that could harm the city’s reputation, some analysts and legal experts have told the Post.

Others were supportive of the draft bill presented to the Legislative Council on Friday and did not see any significant outstanding issues.

While acknowledging the need to enact the new legislation as a constitutional obligation, some of them also raised concerns about potential abuse of power in its enforcement, citing provisions in the draft bill for authorities to extend the initial period of detention and bar suspects from contacting lawyers.

Political scientist Hung Wing-lok of the Chinese University of Hong Kong said Beijing was still worried about national security risks in the city, given geopolitical complexities at a time of escalating tensions between China and Western powers led by the United States.

“The advantage of quickly doing this is to fill in some holes and gaps in the current national security law system. But from a Western point of view, Hong Kong might become just another Chinese city,” he said.