How China’s National Security Law Silences Hong Kong

Beijing says the legislation ended years of instability that peaked with the 2019 protests and has put town and its round 7.5 million folks again on the trail to higher prosperity. That was the message relayed in China’s state media this week as President Xi Jinping arrived to mark the twenty fifth anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule and the inauguration of John Lee—a former safety secretary and police officer—as its new chief.

Western governments, rights organizations and a few authorized students say that regardless of the meant goal of the legislation, which Beijing imposed on town in 2020, it has been used to crush legit political opposition and strangle free speech. Mr. Xi’s go to has been free from the protests which have greeted previous Chinese leaders: maybe unsurprising, given that the majority opposition leaders are awaiting trial in jail, out on bail or have disappeared from public view.