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Added on the 24/05/2020 07:24:01 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
China's rubber-stamp parliament endorsed plans Thursday to impose a national security law on Hong Kong that critics say will destroy the city’s autonomy. IMAGES
The US says it is "alarmed" after Hong Kong legislators fast-tracked a new national security law that introduces penalties such as life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection, and up to 20 years in jail for the theft of state secrets. "We believe that these kinds of actions have the potential to accelerate the closing of Hong Kong’s once open society," US Department of State deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel tells reporters during a press briefing. SOUNDBITE
A small group of protesters gather outside the Hong Kong court where the city's largest national security trial was set to begin. "Crackdown is shameless," read a banner carried by two people, adding: "Immediately release all political prisoners." IMAGES
A Hong Kong court convicted a former waiter of terrorism and inciting secession on Tuesday in the first trial conducted under a national security law that was imposed by China to stamp out dissent. IMAGES
Hong Kong's top court orders pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to stay behind bars as it sides with prosecutors in the first legal test of Beijing's sweeping new national security law. IMAGES of Jimmy Lai leaving in van +COMPLETES VIDI92J7BN_EN+