Ministers Reject Criticism Of Security Law

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Erick Tsang, on Sunday hit back at outside criticism of the national security law that Beijing is imposing on the SAR, saying it's no one else's business. Labour minister Law Chi-kwong also said history might show that threats of US sanctions actually made Beijing more determined.

Tsang said only those violating the law would oppose it.

Tsang compared the situation to a houseowner wanting to install doors, saying this should have no effect on neighbours.

He also said he's not worried by what he called American "intimidation" of possible sanctions on Hong Kong officials, saying he didn't own property there or overseas.

The former immigration chief added that he wouldn't even go to Canada so that "they can't catch me from there".

The Chief Secretary, Matthew Cheung, accused countries trying to stop China from protecting its national security of being hypocrites.

Labour minister Law Chi-kwong also defended the law.

Commenting on threatened US sanctions, Law wrote in his blog that history books in future may say that the sanctions made Beijing more determined.

Critics of the security law say it will erode democratic freedoms, including freedom of speech and the media in the SAR, and the US government has announced that Hong Kong would lose its special status because it was losing its autonomy..

The Hong Kong government has accused President Trump and the State Department of continuing to "smear and demonise" Beijing's right to safeguard national security in the SAR.

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