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Hong Kong's government on Friday unveiled its proposed national security

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bill following a month long public consultation that ended last

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week. The draft document sets out new laws encompassing

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treason, espionage and external interference. Some lawyers said

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it broadened what could be considered sedition and state secrets

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with tougher penalties for those convicted. City leaders want

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it to be passed quickly. Potentially within weeks,

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foreign diplomats and businesses have been awaiting the draft fearing

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it could further dent freedoms in the financial hub.

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A China led crackdown on dissent has already sent many

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pro democracy politicians and activists into jail or exile.

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Hong Kong and Chinese officials said the draft was similar

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to laws in some Western nations and that it was

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necessary to plug loopholes in the national security regime.

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That regime was bolstered in 2020 by another law imposed

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directly by China which at the time said it was

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aimed at restoring stability after pro democracy protests. A

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year earlier, Eric Lai is a fellow at the

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Georgetown Center for Asian Law in Washington DC. The

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most drastic changes of the legislative bill would be uh

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issues related to due process and uh fair trials.

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This give anonymous power and discretion to the uh law

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enforcement uh to uh deny the right of the rights

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to access to lawyer, of choice of arrestees.

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And there's um and this is also a problematic uh

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approach because uh in comparative uh other uh compare with

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other Western jurisdictions, such extreme conditions uh uh could

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only be used against a terrorist or in extreme conditions

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. Hong Kong has long been a business academic and

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media hub for China and the region. But in

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recent years, critics say the rule of law and

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freedom of information have been undermined the debate on the

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Hong Kong bill coincides with the move by China's top

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lawmakers to create a slew of new national security laws

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in order to safeguard the mainland's sovereign interests.