Anti-Democratic Laws in Hong Kong & The Philippines Passed in the Name of "National Security"

DIGITAL RIGHTS: Recently, Hong Kong’s National Security Law and The Philippine’s Anti-Terrorism Law have been enacted, becoming a threat to democracy. In an alarming twist, both have similar provisions and challenges restricting civil liberties and giving broad power to authoritarian governments. In both laws, any action can become an act of terrorism, secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign forces: the lack of clear and precise definition of these actions allows governments to punish any activist or dissent under these laws. Both laws have very heavy punishments for minor crimes like vandalism, they authorize governments’ surveillance of individuals for a long period of time, they oblige telecommunication companies to surveil and assist the government, and they place all power under the laws with one committee made up only of government officials.

Even worse, these laws also give power to governments to hold individuals without judicial oversight: Hong Kong’s National Security Law allows to detain individuals for up to six months or to extradite them to be tried by the flawed court system of China, while The Philippine’s Anti-Terrorism Law permits the detention and questioning of individuals for up to 24 days without informing the court.

Learn more about the Anti-Democratic Laws in Hong Kong and The Philippines here!