Groups Protest Security Law Outside Liaison Office

Representatives from Amnesty International and other groups rallied against the national security law outside the liaison office in Western on Friday.

They said they have collected more than 11,000 signatures from Hong Kong residents opposing the legislation, and presented an open letter co-signed by more than 80 groups urging Beijing to drop plans to implement the law.

The Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was among the signatories, and its chairman Lee Cheuk-yan said although the introduction of the national security law is inevitable, it was still important for people to make it known that they're not happy with the law.

"We know that everything is now so-called 'fixed' by the National People's Congress and they don't really care about public opinion," he said.

"But still, I think a vibrant civil society is one that people can voice out, and we want to show to the world that the people of Hong Kong is voicing out, and civil society is very concerned about this law," Lee said.

He also expressed concerns over the unexpected change in wording in the law, after it was reported that one of the offences covered would include "collusion with foreign forces" instead of "intervention of foreign forces" in Hong Kong affairs.

"We have, of course, international solidarity and we support unions all over the world, and unions all over the world unite together for our common values of workers rights and democracy and also peace and also civil rights," Lee said.

"Will our international connections be at risk if the national security law come in? Because we never know how they define what they called collusion."