The National People’s Congress (NPC), in late May, passed controversial new legislation on national security for Hong Kong, and on 4 June, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Hong Kong’s own legislature made it a crime to insult the National Anthem.
As the 4 June law was passed, students held a silent vigil at the Pillar Of Shame sculpture commemorating the massacre.
Loose definitions
The NPC resolution was approved by 2,878 votes to one, with six abstentions. Details of the law will be drawn up in the coming weeks by the NPC’s Standing Committee. It is expected to be added to Annex III of the Basic Law and applied to Hong Kong through promulgation before September.
