[Siren wailing]
-The purpose of this piece of legislation
is not just to punish.
It is also to deter.
-This is basically the end of one judicial system.
-To deter people from committing such serious offenses
as secession,
subverting of state power, terrorist utilities,
and so on and on.
-There is no more justice system,
no more firewall between the system
in Hong Kong and in China.
-Free Hong Kong was one of the world's most stable,
prosperous, and dynamic cities.
Now -- Now we're just another communist-run city
where people subject to the party elite's whims.
-Probably in the future,
we may never see a million people on the street again,
just because we are now living in fear.
-Most people thought Hong Kong had more time.
More time to exercise freedom of speech in the press
and live under a legal system of due process.
Hong Kong's special status as a city
separated from the authoritarian rule of mainland China
should have lasted until 2047.
Sure, Beijing had been chipping away large
and small at the city's civil liberties
since Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997.
In fact, last year's massive protests were in response
to an extradition bill
that would have allowed criminal cases
to be tried on the mainland.
But in 2020,
it seems the patience of China's President Xi Jinping ran out.
-On July 1st, Hong Kong's 7.
5 million residents woke up to find themselves
effectively under the same speech restrictions
as in the mainland.
This meant possible life imprisonment
for crimes like subversion
and colluding with foreign forces,
which are crimes that had long been used in the mainland
for detaining political dissidents
and human rights activists.
Despite the harsh new laws,
thousands of Hong Kongers took to the streets July 1st.
Hundreds were arrested,
including at least 10 suspected of violating the new law.
One man was arrested for simply holding a sign
that read "Hong Kong Independence".
The news of the arrest was tweeted out
on the official account of the Hong Kong Police Force.
Countries like Taiwan, the US, Australia, and Britain
said they would open their doors to millions
of Hong Kong refugees ready to flee their home,
in some cases offering a path to citizenship.
-The fact that Britain and a number
of other Western governments,
including the United States, is considering giving Hong Kong
some kind of safe haven or sanctuary
or asylum really demonstrates
the gravity of the political crisis right now.
-China continued down this path, we would introduce a new route
for those with British national oversea status
to enter the UK,
granting them limited leave to remain with the ability
to live and work in the UK
and thereafter, to apply for citizenship,
and that is precisely what we will do now.
-They see this new national security law
that Beijing essentially rammed through Hong Kong
as a potential marker in the city's political evolution,
a pretty grim one, that may mean the end
of Hong Kong's special status, both in terms of business,
but also just in the Western political imagination.
-But if Hong Kong had until 2047,
why did Beijing act now?
-Beijing saw its opportunity this year,
with the coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter protests
taking up a lot of the attention and bandwidth
of other countries.
It was a time that they could move quickly on this.
That being said, it is something that Beijing
has been wanting to do for quite a while.
Since last year, when the protests broke out,
Beijing has been looking for a way that it can exert
more control in Hong Kong while still being able to say
that it's following the letter of the law
and that it isn't just, you know, a forcible takeover.
-Hong Kong activists have pledged to continue
their fight for civil liberties,
even if it means they'll have to do so outside the city.
But to many observers,
the law marks the definitive end to a democratic Hong Kong,
even if Hong Kong's chief executive sees it differently.
-This law will not undermined human rights and freedoms.
This law will restore stability to Hong Kong.
This law will ensure that this very important principle
of one country, two systems can continue,
and Hong Kong can enjoy longtime stability and prosperity.