As the world wrestles with a global pandemic, China has proposed a controversial national security law, which goes beyond anything Beijing has tried before with Hong Kong. Could this be the end of Hong Kong as we know it? @jgriffiths explains. cnn.it/3bVDEsz
@jgriffiths As well as criminalizing "treason, secession, sedition (and) subversion" against central power, the law will allow Chinese national security services to work in the city "to fulfill relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law" cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths This isn’t the first time China has tried to implement an anti-sedition law in the city. In 2003, mass marches and protests within Hong Kong shelved the plans. Since then, no Hong Kong government has dared restart the process. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths However, it seems this week, China’s patience ran out. Following six months of often violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong last year, China’s rubber-stamp parliament put forward a new anti-sedition law on the city’s behalf. But this time with a twist cnn.it/2zl9G3R 
@jgriffiths The law will bypass Hong Kong's legislature via a rarely used constitutional backdoor -- making it unclear what protesters or opposition lawmakers can do to prevent it becoming law. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths Expected to be passed within weeks, the law will have drastic effects on whole swaths of Hong Kong society, from the city’s garrulous and defiant political sphere to media, education and international business. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths Hong Kong has long enjoyed certain legal freedoms and civil liberties, which aren't allowed in China. They were enshrined in an agreement between the UK and China when the city was handed over in 1997. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths This law challenges all of this. By criminalizing a broad swath of ill-defined acts, it could give authorities the leeway to persecute opposition as it sees fit. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths Pro-democracy legislator Claudia Mo told CNN that the news was proof that Beijing "will do anything to reign in Hong Kong at any cost.... It's clear Beijing couldn't care less anymore what people think." cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths If the law is passed, a major chilling effect can be expected on the city's media and political spheres -- journalist groups have long warned of increasing self-censorship as pressure from Beijing has increased. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths A crackdown on the city's legislature, where pro-democracy lawmakers hold around a third of seats, could also result. The law could give Hong Kong authorities a broader remit to remove obstructive lawmakers or prosecute them for blocking key legislation cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths That's without even mentioning the diplomatic and economic repercussions on a global level. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped nearly 5.6% on Friday after news broke that Beijing would move to pass the law: cnn.it/3bY3oEy
@jgriffiths Beijing may be counting on the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has weakened the ability and determination of the international community to pressure it over Hong Kong -- the UK in particular. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths The timing, coming as coronavirus restrictions are still in place in Hong Kong, which is only just getting its domestic epidemic fully under control, could mean that people are less willing to join mass protests than they were last year. cnn.it/2zl9G3R
@jgriffiths But there is still hope in the pro-democracy camp. Nathan Law, a former lawmaker, called on people not to give up. "At this time last year, didn't we all think the extradition law would definitely be passed? Hong Kong people can always create miracles." cnn.it/2zl9G3R
