A video marking two years since the National Security Act came into force in Hong Kong
A video marking two years since the National Security Act came into force in Hong Kong
On 21 May 2020, a year after pro-democracy protests swept Hong Kong, China enacted a national security law. On 30 June, the law came into force.
In the spring of 2019, thousands of people marched on the streets of Hong Kong in response to an extradition law by the Chinese government. The proposed bill, once passed, would allow criminal suspects to be transferred from Hong Kong to mainland China for prosecution.
But critics believed it would expose Hong Kong to China’s deeply flawed justice system and further curtail its autonomy. What began as a sit-in demonstration at the government headquarters on 15 March 2019 soon became one of the largest protests in the history of Hong Kong.
As the protests became more prominent, hundreds of people were arrested for the violent scenes.
There was further dissent in the law, and dozens of opposition leaders, journalists and activists were put behind bars.
Two years later, how different is Hong Kong from what it was?