And at a protest the following day, people learned of the terrifying change that had suddenly swept over Hong Kong, when police unveiled a new purple warning banner and displayed it to the crowd: When the law was finally revealed that night, only an hour before it was due to take effect, its scope was wider than anyone had feared. In the day leading up to its enactment, political parties and NGOs were dissolved, Hong Kongers purged or deleted their social media accounts, activist chat groups closed down, and pro-democracy businesses tore down posters and leaflets bearing protest slogans.
Nerves were already on edge in anticipation of the new law. At that moment, Hong Kong as we knew it permanently changed. One hour before midnight the new Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region came into force. The same could not be said of the transition that occurred from 30 June to 1 July this year.
After all the pomp of the handover ceremony from British to Chinese sovereignty, the following morning the people of Hong Kong dusted off their hangovers and everyday life continued as normal. Hong Kong’s transition from 30 June to 1 July in 1997 was a largely seamless one. The National Security Law effectively replicates in Hong Kong the same Party and government structure that exists in the rest of China, writes Hong Kong-based lawyer and writer Antony Dapiran – and the implications are profound. Hong Kong has a new ‘Party Secretary’, a new all-powerful government agency, and a new basis to charge the opposition as terrorists.
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