Two decades ago, the Catholic Church in Hong Kong joined half a million people to overturn the government’s plan to implement a national-security law that would threaten the city’s freedoms. Now, with little critique, the Hong Kong government is seeking to pass a new law that threatens religious liberty and bodes a rocky future for Christians in the city. The Hong Kong government, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has announced a security bill under Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. The bill would ban five types of security crimes, including treason, insurrection, and external interference, and would require that individuals disclose knowledge of treason to the authorities within a reasonable time.
Lam Ting-kwok, Hong Kong’s secretary for justice, indicated that those who know of someone’s criminal acts or opposition to the government but fail to notify government authorities are guilty of “concealed treason,” which carries a sentence of 14 years imprisonment. No exception is made for confessions to clergy. “When the safety of the country is at stake, everyone must strike a balance” between roles and, as a lawful citizen, must “fulfill the obligation” to “pledge allegiance,” he said.
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