The Hong Kong skyline in on Feb. 27, 2024
A long-shelved security law that once kindled fear of eroding rights and galvanized Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement is making a comeback. Efforts to complete the legislation to protect the Chinese state will enter their final stages Tuesday, when lawmakers meet to resume their debate of the draft law and possibly vote to pass it.
Those protests became an annual tradition drawing tens of thousands of democracy advocates and helping opposition parties raise funds. That stopped only after, silencing dissent and wiping out many activist groups, including the one coordinating the annual march.
It also looks to expand the definition of key ideas such as state secrets. Current laws protecting such information mostly concern defense and intelligence matters, and don’t prohibit government workers from revealing confidential documents to endanger national security — something the new law would change.