TAIPEI (REUTERS)Taiwan's government urged China on Friday (May 22) not to lead Hong Kong into "bigger turmoil" due to wrong policy decisions, after China proposed new national security legislation for the previous British colony.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement that China's Communist Party has wrongly blamed external influences and Hong Kong independence "separatists" for the instability in the territory.
China is set to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong after the previous year's pro-democracy unrest, Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the China's National People's Congress, said on Thursday.
"In light of the new circumstances and need, the National People's Congress (NPC) is exercising its constitutional power" to establish a new legal framework and enforcement mechanism to safeguard national security in Hong Kong, he told a briefing.
According to a draft of the legislation seen by Reuters on Friday, China's proposed new legislation for Hong Kong would require the territory to quickly finish enacting national security regulations under its mini-constitution, the Basic law.
China's action could spark fresh protests in Hong Kong, which enjoys several freedoms not allowed on the mainland.
The often violent demonstrations in Hong Kong the previous year plunged the city into its deepest turmoil since it returned to Beijing's rule in 1997.