Hong Kong’s first attempt in 2003 to pass a homegrown security law failed in the face of mass protests. After the seismic changes which have shaken the city since then – culminating in the 2019 protests and unrest and the subsequent clampdown – the latest move to legislate the Basic Law’s Article 23 is a vastly different ballgame. If the legislative version watered down by the Tung Chee-hwa government in the wake of the 500,000-strong protest was rightly described as a “toothless tiger,” the 2024 proposal is a fierce beast with sharp teeth and powerful claws. When and how they will be used is …
