Dozens of people protested in a mall in Hong Kong on Friday following a vote by China's ceremonial parliament to approve legislation that could severely restrict opposition political activity and civil society in the Asian financial center.
The protesters chanted slogans in the main atrium of the mall in the high-end Central district, some draping banners over the balconies with slogans such as "Independence for Hong Kong." Police waited in vans parked prominently outside the mall but did not attempt to break up the gathering. Hundreds of people have been arrested during recent demonstrations that seek to revive the momentum of protests that shut down large parts of the city during the second half of last year.
China's National People's Congress on Thursday voted to approve the bill that will now be sent to its standing committee for final approval.
Details of the final version of the law aren't known, but China says it will prohibit separatist activities and actions that might threaten the Communist Party's monopoly on political power in mainland China.
Beijing and its supporters in Hong Kong are defending the legislative move against criticism from foreign countries, including the U.S., which has threatened to revoke special trade privileges granted to the former British colony when it was handed over to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" framework in which it was guaranteed its own political, legal, social and legal institutions for 50 years.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China would not tolerate any interference in what it considers a strictly internal matter.
Meanwhile, The UK government has said that it is open to extending the visa rights of British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders in Hong Kong to offer them a path to the country's citizenship unless China "steps back" from a new security law in the former British territory.
An estimated 300,000 BNO passport holders in Hong Kong currently have the right to visit the UK for up to six months without a visa. These passports were issued by the UK to people in the region before the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
