China reportedly may create new detention centers for those who breach secretive Hong Kong security law

(Image credit: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)

published 22 June 2020

Details are slowly emerging about what potentially could be in Hong Kong's forthcoming national security law, but the full draft reportedly won't be revealed to the public until after it's passed by China's legislature, which is a foregone conclusion.

It's clear the law aims to crack down on crimes of secession, terrorism, subversion, and collusion with foreign countries and institutions that Beijing believes could threaten China's national security. But Hong Kong's opposition movement has been left in the dark about what specific cases will be illegal and what kind of penalties should be expected, which has many people in the autonomous city worried that Beijing's new measure will severely curtail their freedom despite promises to the contrary.

The South China Morning Post reported Monday that one idea under consideration is the establishment of separate detention centers for those suspected of breaching the new law, rather than holding them in police stations after arrest. "Depending on the new law requirement, the subjects will be detained for a certain period of time as the authority sees fit for legitimate processing, before putting the case to the designated law courts," one source said, while another compared the notion to Singapore's Internal Security Act that allows for indefinite detention without trial. Read more at The South China Morning Post.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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