"Hong Kong Introduces Tough National Security Law with Life Sentences for Treason and Insurrection"

Hong Kong has introduced a new national security bill proposing stiff penalties, including life imprisonment for offenses like treason and insurrection, in a move that has raised concerns about further erosion of the city's freedoms. The bill expands the government's power to suppress dissent and targets espionage, external interference, and protection of state secrets. Critics fear the legislation will make Hong Kong's legal framework increasingly similar to that of mainland China, and the government has justified the bill by pointing to the 2019 protests. The proposed law is expected to pass easily in a legislature packed with Beijing loyalists, and it has sparked fears among business people and journalists that it could criminalize their day-to-day work.