National People's Congress decision on Hong Kong national security legislation

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Decision on Hong Kong national security legislation
National People's Congress
Long title Decision of the People's National Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Safeguard National Security[1]
Territorial extent	People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong)
Passed by	National People's Congress
Passed	28 May 2020 (2020-05-28)
Legislative history
Introduced by	Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Introduced	21 May 2020 (2020-05-21)
Status: In force

The Decision of the National People's Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Safeguard National Security^[1] is a congressional resolution passed by the third session of the 13th National People's Congress on 28 May 2020.^[2][3] This resolution authorizes the National People's Congress Standing Committee to promulgate a national security law in Hong Kong.

According to the decision, the proposed national security law seeks to prevent external interference in Hong Kong's affairs, criminalise acts that threaten national security such as subversion and secession, allow the State Council of the People's Republic of China to establish a national security agency in Hong Kong when necessary and require the Chief Executive to send the central government periodic reports on national security.^[4]

The pan-democratic camp, legal professionals, human rights organisations and politicians abroad have criticised the decision as a threat to the "one country, two systems" principle, the rule of law and civil liberties. In late May 2020, Chinese diplomat Xie Feng said that the laws would only target a minority of "troublemakers" who had endangered Chinese national security. Around the same time, Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee said regarding the Hong Kong situation that “terrorism is growing” and calls for Hong Kong independence had become more frequent, which necessitated the bill. Several Hong Kong government officials strove to reassure investors, with Financial Secretary Paul Chan writing on his blog that any harm to investor confidence was due to "misunderstanding" of the law.^[5]