From the form of this bill—it's a decision, not a "law"—and what we can tell at this point from news reports, this Decision itself is NOT the future national security law for Hong Kong. Rather, it appears to be an authorization to the NPC Standing Committee to draft such a law.
It appears that after this Decision is adopted, the NPCSC would then adopt the actual Hong Kong National Security Law and list it in Annex III of the Basic Law so that it can be enforced in Hong Kong—bypassing the Hong Kong legislature.
There are two ways to enforce a national law listed in Annex III: either directly upon promulgation, or through local legislation. It seems that the NPCSC would opt for the former method with this new national security law.
But it's not clear how the NPCSC would approach the drafting given the differences between mainland's and Hong Kong's legal systems. Prior Annex III national laws that were enforced upon promulgation without local legislation are not criminal in nature. /fin
Addendum: At the ongoing press conference, the NPC spokesperson declined to elaborate further on this draft Decision and suggested that more details would be made public on Friday when the Decision is explained to the delegates.
