Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee revealed that the city would be expanding upon a national security law passed by Beijing in 2020 that effectively stripped Hong Kong of its status as a semi-autonomous region. The law criminalized many basic protest activities, such as classifying “groups speaking of potential independence” as guilty of “subversion.” Activities deemed to involve “secession,” “terrorism,” and “collusion with foreign forces” were also outlawed, all of which “carry a range of sentences up to life imprisonment.”

According to Kyodo News, Lee’s proposed legislation would build upon China’s overreaching edict by criminalizing so-called “treason and theft of state secrets.” It would also institute a prohibition on orchestrating so-called “political activities” and bar local groups from “establishing ties with them, a move designed to further crack down on dissent in Hong Kong.”

[Taiwan is watching, and preparing accordingly. The West sold out Hong Kong, and I’d bet that Taiwan’s betting on the same thing happening to them. Fortunately, they’re more defensible than Hong Kong would have been. Any attempts by Beijing to undermine Taiwan’s independence via a political influence operation is probably doomed to failure with these harsh crackdowns in Hong Kong, too. — Ed]