HONG KONG: Top Beijing officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs on Monday lashed out at critics of the city’s new national security law, calling them “mantises and flies”.Hong Kong authorities last month enacted the financial hubs’s second national security law, which expanded on legislation Beijing imposed four years ago to quell dissent after massive democracy protests in 2019 were quashed.The two laws together punish nine categories of broadly-defined crimes — ranging from sedition and insurrection to foreign interference and theft of state secrets — with some carrying penalties of up to life imprisonment.The latest law raised concerns over further infringement of human rights from the United Nations and several countries, including Britain , Australia, the United States and Canada.It has also triggered discussions about Hong Kong’s prospects as it charts a sluggish economic recovery post-Covid, even though officials say the law will usher in stability and prosperity.On Monday, during the city’s official celebration of China’s National Security Education Day, a top Beijing official said it would act as “a guardian angel” for global investors, “protecting their rights, freedom, assets and investments”.”For an extremely small number of people who endanger national security, this law is an overhanging sharp sword,” said Xia Baolong, Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office chief.”Hong Kong’s development would not be stopped by a few mantises and flies,” he added in a speech from Beijing.



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