Hong Kong Government Allocates $1 Billion for National Security Budget Without Providing Any Details
On Feb. 24, the Hong Kong government announced a new budget for fiscal year 2021–2022, allocating about $1 billion (HK$8 billion) for national security expenditures, despite facing a huge deficit.
This is the first time that national security expenditures appeared in the Hong Kong government’s budget since Beijing implemented the national security law at the end of June last year. However, the Hong Kong government did not provide any details of the budget.
Following the resignation of Hong Kong’s democratic legislators in November last year, the financial secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan Mo-po, announced the 2021 budget for the first time in the parliament led by the pro-Beijing establishment on Feb. 24.