Hong Kong’s plan for a new national security law deepens fears over eroding civil liberties

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — As Hong Kong moves toward enacting a new national security law, more than three years after Beijing imposed a similar law that all but wiped out dissent and vocal pro-democracy media in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, concerns are spreading among the city’s international business and media communities. Critics say the legislation will make Hong Kong’s legal system increasingly similar to that of mainland China, but the government argues it will affect only a “small minority” of disloyal residents. Businesses and journalists fear that broad provisions on state secrets could criminalize their day-to-day work.