Many Westerners are claiming that a national security law for Hong Kong will destroy the special administrative region's freedoms, but nothing could be further from the truth. Quite the contrary, the very stability and security of Hong Kong is dependent on the new law!
It is important to distinguish the difference between free speech and speech and actions of insurrection and sedition. There is no government that is likely to permit expressions of seditious intent, and will offer no protection for such speech.
The U.S. and most other countries have for many years had laws on the books similar to the ones just passed by Beijing. In countries such as the U.S. where rule of law is an important component of the management of the security of the countries, such laws have not interfered with any freedoms, including freedom of speech. This is not to say that the laws have not been abused; the cold war era abuses of McCarthyism is a prominent example of misinterpretation and misuse of the laws.
Here are some of the laws stipulated in the U.S. Code that are currently effective in the U.S. (source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2383):
— 18 U.S. Code § 2383. Rebellion or insurrection
"Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
So substitute "the authority of China" for "the authority of the United States," and you can understand why it is appropriate for China to pass this law, and why it is appropriate for Joshua Wong to be arrested and charged with insurrection if he persists in his acts of insurrection.
Or would you prefer
— 18 U.S. Code § 2384. Seditious conspiracy
"If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or ..., they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both."
Or how about this one (my favorite):
— 18 U.S. Code § 2385. Advocating overthrow of government
"Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or..."
If Joshua Wong had committed his acts in the U.S., he and his co-conspirators would have promptly been arrested. However, it is unlikely that the new law will be applied retroactively, meaning that Wong and his co-conspirators will not be arrested at this time. But with the passage of the new Chinese law, we can expect that any future similar acts by Wong and his co-conspirators will result in prompt arrests, and Hong Kong once again will be a safe and free SAR of the People's Republic of China.
(The author is a voting citizen from Chico, California, currently residing in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. His personal website is www.OrfeoMusic.org.)