Hong Kong national security law

Hong Kong's new national security law came into force on Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for crimes including treason and insurrection.

The law — commonly referred to as Article 23 — targets five categories of national security crimes and was swiftly passed by Hong Kong's opposition-free legislature on Tuesday.

China and Australia claimed to have stabilised long-strained relations after talks in Canberra on Wednesday, despite tensions over a high-profile prisoner, trade and China's crackdowns in Hong Kong and elsewhere remaining evident.

Hong Kong will create its own national security law "as soon as possible", city leader John Lee said Tuesday, adding insurrection and other crimes not covered by existing legislation imposed by Beijing four years ago.

Massive pro-democracy protests rocked the finance hub in 2019, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to call for greater freedoms.

The Taiwanese, especially after seeing how Beijing suffocated Hong Kong in the past four years, do not want to be ruled by China

Jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai will go on trial in Hong Kong on Monday for national security crimes, facing life in prison in a case that has sparked international condemnation.

China on Friday accused Britain and the United States of "malicious intentions" after they condemned Hong Kong police for offering bounties for information leading to the capture of five overseas activists.

The city's authorities said Thursday that the wanted individuals would be pursued "till the end" as they offered HK$1,000,000 ($128,000) bounties for help catching them.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday defended his vision of the "one country, two systems" framework against accusations by the U.S., U.K. and others that Beijing has undermined the freedoms and autonomy promised to Hong Kong for 50 years.

A former security chief who oversaw the crackdown on Hong Kong's democracy movement was anointed the business hub's new leader on Sunday by a small committee of Beijing loyalists.

John Lee, 64, was the only candidate in the Beijing-backed race to succeed outgoing leader Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong's national security law has created a "human rights emergency", Amnesty International said on June 30, a year after China imposed it on the city to crush a pro-democracy movement.

Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was sentenced to more jail time on May 28 over his role in an anti-government protest in 2019, as authorities step up a crackdown on dissent in the city.