Why pro-democracy activists are so terrified by Hong Kong’s security law

Full text of new legislation goes beyond the already concerning draft released in May, Adam Withnall explains

Police walk past a burning barricade set up by protesters during a rally against the law in Hong Kong on Wednesday (AFP/Getty)

Activists have for the past month been saying China’s new national security law is the end of Hong Kong as we know it. On Wednesday, having finally seen the full text of the new legislation, one opposition politician in the city said they were holding a “funeral” for the city’s autonomy.

The UK government, which up until now has reserved judgement on the law while expressing its initial concerns, similarly denounced the law as a “clear and serious violation” of Beijing’s commitments to Hong Kong in the 1997 handover agreement.

The reason opponents of the new law are stepping up their criticism is not simply because it has now been passed by Xi Jinping; rather, it is that the final version of the bill goes some way further than indicated by the short draft document presented to China’s parliament back in late May.