Vice-chairwoman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Chow Hang-tung, who faced charges related to an illegal vigil assembly commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown last year, in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters/Jessie PangThe top US diplomat in Hong Kong said the imposition of a new national security law had created an “atmosphere of coercion” threatening the city’s freedoms and its standing as an international business hub. The foreign forces issue is at the heart of the crimes of “collusion” with foreign countries or “external elements” detailed in Article 29 of the security law, scholars say. He made his comments in an interview at the US diplomatic mission in Hong Kong on Wednesday. In a response, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said “normal interactions and activities” were protected, and blamed external elements for interfering in the city during the protests that engulfed Hong Kong in 2019.

Source: Irish Independent June 12, 2021 01:35 UTC