Critics worry authorities will use a local national security law as another tool to crack down on dissidents, building on the law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
In 2023, the erosion of democratic values, tightening grip of the National Security Law and curtailment of civil liberties signaled a significant shift toward authoritarianism in Hong Kong.
In May 2020, as the planet grappled with the pandemic, China’s state media declared that there were ‘obvious deficiencies’ in Hong Kong law enforcement needing to be addressed. Any delusions this might have referred to intensifying police brutality in response to massive pro-democracy protests, let alone the unleashing of Triad thugs to attack participants, were