China Wednesday ratified the national security law for Hong Kong, which was unanimously approved by over 160 National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee members and will come into effect late Tuesday.
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China's President Xi Jinping confirmed the approval of the law a day before this Wednesday, July 1, when the territory's commemorates its return from United Kingdom to China's sovereignty in 1997.
Although the final text is not public, the Standing Committee has already voted to include it in Annex III of the Basic Law, the mini-Constitution of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's government will establish a national security committee, chaired by the city’s chief executive, as soon as possible, the statement said.
The Hong Kong Police Force and the semi-autonomous city’s Department of Justice will be responsible for implementing the relevant legal provisions in the National Security Law.
The text permits Beijing to include national laws in the semi-autonomous city.
"The new legislation will protect national security and constitutional order and the rule of law in Hong Kong," Standing Committee Chairman Li Zhanshu said.
The regulations could include sentences of up to life imprisonment for acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.