HONG KONG — China has officially ratified a plan to write a national security law for Hong Kong, exerting Beijing's broader, new control over the semi-autonomous territory in a bid to prevent a return of the months of often-violent protests last year.
China’s ceremonial legislature approved a decision by the ruling Communist Party to impose national security laws on Hong Kong.
The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government sought to assure its citizens that the law would not infringe on their freedoms.
The pro-democracy opposition described the move as the end of the core values that set the former British colony apart from the rest of China.
