June 30 marks the sixth anniversary of the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law. On June 29, Human Rights Watch stated that Hong Kong's governance structure has been restructured, with accountability to the party leadership rather than to the people of Hong Kong.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Hong Kong’s repressive national security regime and bureaucratic structure have erased long-protected rights and cast a deeply unsettling shadow over the city’s future.”
Pearson cited the example of Beijing's drastic transformation of Hong Kong and the deadly Tai Po residential building fire, illustrating the tragic cost of a society that has lost its capacity for accountability.
Human Rights Watch noted in a press release that in March of this year, the government granted the police new powers under the National Security Law, including the power to demand device codes from suspects. In June, the government bypassed the legislature and, through subsidiary legislation, authorized the Chief Executive to adjudicate any criminal offense as a national security case. This move makes it possible for anyone charged with an ordinary criminal offense to be arbitrarily brought into national security proceedings.
In May, the government allocated HK$5 billion (US$638 million) to the national security budget, bringing the total to HK$18 billion (US$2.3 billion).
Sang Pu, a lawyer who has long focused on Hong Kong, pointed out that the Hong Kong government's amendment to the law authorizes the police to compel anyone to hand over the passwords to electronic devices for inspection, including mobile phones or tablets, with those who refuse facing imprisonment. This significantly restricts privacy and freedom of communication, and will also have a very important impact on international trade.
Samp pointed out that censorship of news and speech in Hong Kong continues to expand. Due to the continued conviction of social media posts and independent reporting on national security charges such as sedition, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) will rank Hong Kong 140th out of 180 countries and regions in its 2026 index, and it has been listed as the lowest level of "severe situation" for many years.
Furthermore, space for public dissent has been severely restricted, from publishing and bookstores to the arts and entertainment industry and restaurants. For example, in March and June, the heads of two bookstores were arrested and charged. He believes that every aspect of Hong Kong continues to crumble. Taiwan must learn from Hong Kong's experience; Taiwan must maintain its free and democratic way of life and democratic defense mechanisms to prevent the lessons of Hong Kong from being repeated in Taiwan.
Human Rights Watch points out that the Chinese Communist Party and the state apparatus have completely reshaped the foundations of governance in Hong Kong, leaving no aspect untouched, from leadership and personnel to institutions and ideology. Beijing also directly governs Hong Kong through mainland institutions and officials under its control.
On the other hand, China's Ministry of State Security released a promotional video to mark the sixth anniversary of the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, stating that the Hong Kong National Security Law "has been a powerful force in eliminating social disorder, consolidating the rule of law, empowering economic recovery, and promoting Hong Kong's historic transformation from chaos to order to prosperity."
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, in its "Analysis Report on the Situation on the 29th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Handover," pointed out that under the principle of "national security first, executive-led," the checks and balances between Hong Kong's legislation and judiciary have become dysfunctional. In addition, the Hong Kong government has replicated the "Chinese Communist Party's stability maintenance model" to exercise political, educational, social, economic, and judicial control, and has vigorously promoted patriotic education, expanded national security legislation, and closely followed the pace of the Chinese Communist Party in diplomacy. This has raised international concerns about the further "mainlandization" of Hong Kong and the remaining autonomy of Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" framework.
