The Guardian view on Hong Kong’s new national security law: double the pain | Editorial

Punitive legislation is already in place. But the territory's masters are hammering home the message

Residents of Hong Kong could be forgiven for a sense of deja vu. A draconian new national security law (NSL), broad in scope and harsh in penalties, is trampling over basic rights. It first happened four years ago, in response to the extraordinary uprising that saw one in four people take to the streets to defend the region's autonomy and way of life.

Beijing imposed the 2020 law upon the territory, demolishing any vestiges of its claim to run Hong Kong on a one country, two systems" basis. That legislation, both vague and sweeping, claims jurisdiction over acts committed by anyone anywhere in the world. It introduced trials without juries. It is so stringent that a police chief said that even watching a documentary on the protests might breach the law.