Security Law Will Push HK Into An Abyss: Councillors

More than 380 pro-democracy district councillors on Saturday vowed to resist the national security law Beijing is planning for the territory, saying the move will "push Hong Kong into an abyss".

In a statement, they said those in power had not only failed to search their souls after the political unrest triggered by the extradition bill last year, they are now accusing Hongkongers who are fighting for their freedoms of breaching the peace.

"[Those in power] are creating public opinions to work with the Chinese Communist Party to bypass local legislative procedure in order to insert a national security law into annex three of the Basic Law," they said.

"It makes the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework just empty talk, and the freedoms in Hong Kong will be gone," they said.

The pro-democracy councillors called on Beijing to withdraw the proposal as it is going to destroy the framework.

The councillors were swept to victory last year after anti-government protests sparked by the government's extradition bill snowballed into a much wider agitation.

Seventeen out of 18 district councils are now dominated by the pro-democracy camp following last November’s poll, which saw many prominent pro-establishment figures losing their seats.