Hong Kong 2.0 – National Security Law

14/07/2020

For Hong Kong as a prime interconnected financial hub, the enactment of the national security law is leading to ever-changing political uncertainties. From legal promises in the Hong Kong Basic Law, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has increasingly become apparent in Hong Kong’s Special Administrative Region (SAR). Gaining ground in the media, the national security law may seem like a novel concept, but this has been a persistent endeavour since the 1990s that has finally come to an end amid the pandemic. Hong Kong has conceded the heavyweight title that it once held as global international finance centre. Chinese cities nearby in the interlocked Pearl River Delta are cropping up progressively, bringing in notable investment in developed industries such as technology, finance and manufacturing. The national security law has also garnered attention internationally. The US is taking an assertive approach, using Hong Kong as a proxy in the US-China trade war. The UK on the other hand has offered UK citizenship to 2.9 million Hong Kongers with British National Overseas (BNO) passports. In retaliation to the national security law the EU is faced with difficult task in balancing its business interests and making a strong stance vis-à-vis their fluctuating relationship with China. The EU must look at Hong Kong through a larger regional lens to implement appropriate tactics as this brisk implementation has reset Hong Kong’s reality.  

Author: Zahra Beg, Junior Researcher