China moves to quell Hong Kong protests with security law

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Chinese President Xi Jinping reaches to vote on a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong during the closing session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Thursday, May 28, 2020. China's ceremonial legislature has endorsed a national security law for Hong Kong that has strained relations with the United States and Britain. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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HONG KONG (AP) — China has officially ratified a plan to write a national security law for Hong Kong, exerting Beijing’s broader, new control over the semi-autonomous territory in a bid to prevent a return of the months of often-violent protests last year. China’s ceremonial legislature approved a decision by the ruling Communist Party to impose national security laws on Hong Kong. The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government sought to assure its citizens that the law would not infringe on their freedoms. The pro-democracy opposition described the move as the end of the core values that set the former British colony apart from the rest of China.