People walk at the waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong (Kin Cheung/AP)China plans to establish a special bureau in Hong Kong to investigate and prosecute crimes considered threatening to national security, as state media reported details of a controversial new national security law Beijing is imposing on the semi-autonomous territory. The announcement is sure to increase concerns that China’s central government will continue to tighten its grip on Hong Kong. Expand Close Dinosaur statues are displayed at the Central, a business district in Hong Kong (Kin Cheung/AP) AP/PA Images / FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsapp Dinosaur statues are displayed at the Central, a business district in Hong Kong (Kin Cheung/AP)Beijing has repeatedly denounced the moves as rank interference in its internal affairs. “It raises the question whether individuals will be tried within the criminal justice system in (Hong Kong) by the Hong Kong courts or sent to the mainland for trial and serve any terms of imprisonment in mainland prisons,” the bar association said in a statement. The legislation is broadly seen as an additional measure further eroding the legal distinctions between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Source: Irish Independent June 20, 2020 13:52 UTC