A total of 394 people have been arrested for endangering national security in the six years since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law.
According to China Central Television (CCTV) on Tuesday (June 30), China's Ministry of State Security announced the figures, marking the sixth anniversary of the law's enforcement.
The Hong Kong National Security Law was enacted following the anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019.
The law, which was drafted by the Chinese central government and took effect on June 30, 2020, allows for penalties of up to life imprisonment for four types of crimes: secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign forces.
According to the Ministry of State Security, from the law's implementation until early April of this year, 394 people were arrested in Hong Kong on charges of endangering national security. Of those, 208 people, or 53 percent, were indicted, and 180 were convicted.
The Ministry of State Security also assessed that "the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has continuously improved its national security legal and institutional framework, establishing a structure where various laws are interconnected and complementary."
This implies that the Hong Kong government has effectively strengthened the central government's control by successively enacting the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, based on Article 23 of the Basic Law, along with related subsidiary legislation and rules, following the Hong Kong National Security Law.
The Hong Kong government also issued a statement, asserting that "safeguarding national security is the authority of the central government," and praised the law as a "watershed moment that allowed Hong Kong to transition from chaos to stability."
The statement added, "We will continue to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, while fully implementing the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle and ensuring the lawful rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents and visitors in accordance with the law."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)