OPINION: Hong Kong rallies behind new ordinance
By Wu Kunling in Hong Kong
More Hong Kong people at home and abroad voiced their strong objection to the smears by some Western politicians on the city's national security ordinance, which will take effect on Saturday.
Hong Kong's legislature approved the long-awaited Safeguarding National Security Ordinance on Tuesday. The ordinance, legislated under Article 23 of the Basic Law, was created to prevent and punish five types of acts endangering national security in Hong Kong, including treason, insurrection and espionage.
Following its passage in the Legislative Council, some Western politicians and organizations have groundlessly criticized the law, saying that it may restrict Hong Kong's freedom and human rights and undermine the city's long-standing advantages.
A view of the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, China. [Photo/IC]
Among the detractors are United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron, former British governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten, Vedant Patel, a spokesman for the United States
Department of State, and Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Representatives from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attended the 55th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland on Wednesday, rebutting the defamation and smearing of the ordinance.
Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, the SAR's deputy secretary for justice, told the UN council that the ordinance will better protect the country and the city from genuine threats to national security amid increasingly intricate geopolitics.
Stressing that the ordinance will strictly adhere to the principles of international law and practices, Cheung said there are appropriate exceptions and defenses, and he reiterated that people's rights and freedoms will be fully protected in accordance with the law.
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