China is preparing to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong, in a show of legal force that threatens to reignite the territory’s pro-democracy movement and exacerbate tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Two people briefed on the plans said China’s parliament intended to draft the legislation and enter it directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, or Basic Law, in a process that will bypass the territory’s Legislative Council, or Legco.
The official agenda of China’s National People’s Congress, released on Thursday, included a proposal to “improve” national security protections in Hong Kong but did not give details of the planned changes.