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Hong Kong passed national security laws at the behest of Beijing<\/a>. The legislation, known as the Article 23 laws, will thwart decades of public resistance. Critics said the move would strike a lasting blow to the partial autonomy that China had promised the city.<\/p>\n The first attempts to pass such legislation, in 2003, set off mass protests. Top officials resigned, and city leaders were reluctant to raise the matter again in subsequent years for fear of public backlash. An earlier national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 has effectively stifled street protests. This time, the streets of Hong Kong were quiet.<\/p>\n I spoke with Tiffany May, who covers Hong Kong for The Times.<\/p>\n Amelia: How will these laws affect Hong Kong?<\/strong><\/p>\n Tiffany:<\/strong> Whether it makes things better or worse depends on whom you ask.<\/p>\n Hong Kong has been an Asian financial center for decades because it was seen as a gateway to business opportunities in the mainland with an independent judiciary as its backbone. It also enjoyed freedoms unimaginable in the rest of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But in recent years, the city has more closely followed China\u2019s hard-line approach. The new national security bill, known as Article 23 legislation, targets ambiguous offenses such as \u201cexternal interference\u201d and \u201ctheft of state secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics say that this could chill all criticism of China and pose new risks for international business operations<\/a>, eroding the very freedoms that had made the city an international business hub.<\/p>\n How is this law different than the national security law that was passed in 2020?<\/strong><\/p>\n The new security laws widen the scope of offenses<\/a> that endanger national security. They also introduce important changes to due process. In some instances, the police may now seek permission from magistrates to prevent suspects from consulting with the lawyers of their choice, if that is deemed a threat to national security.<\/p>\n Analysts said that this could have a chilling effect on entrepreneurs, civil servants, lawyers, diplomats, journalists and academics. The punishment for political crimes such as treason and insurrection includes life imprisonment.<\/p>\n Why was it hustled through the government?<\/strong><\/p>\n China is at a place where it feels constantly attacked by the West.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The country\u2019s top leader, Xi Jinping, sees national security legislation as necessary to protect China against what he considers unfair trade practices, the infiltration of spies and other types of security threats. This year, Beijing emphasized that it would prioritize both economic growth and security, and in February updated a state secrets law.<\/p>\n Analysts say that he is taking a similar approach with Hong Kong. Chinese officials have urged Hong Kong\u2019s leaders to pass the city\u2019s own security laws as quickly as possible. Hong Kong\u2019s top leader, John Lee, said that passing the law quickly would allow the government to focus on reviving the economy.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years<\/a>. The move comes amid an inflation bump and rising wages, which suggest that Japan\u2019s economy can grow without such aggressive stimulus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It brought borrowing costs below zero in 2016, an unorthodox attempt to kick-start borrowing and lending. This slight increase brings rates to <\/strong>a range of <\/strong>zero to <\/strong>0.1 percent, but it could have a dramatic symbolic effect, my colleague Joe Rennison, who reports on financial markets, said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is sending a signal that prices aren\u2019t coming back down any time soon,\u201d Joe said. He noted that wage increases showed a shift in mentality. People don\u2019t think they can wait out inflation anymore, so they ask for more money.<\/p>\n Global context:<\/strong> The rate is lower than those set by central banks in the U.S. and the E.U. Japan\u2019s central bank is the last major institution to exit its negative-rate policy, set after the 2008 financial crisis.<\/p>\n A yearslong drought in Afghanistan has displaced villages and left millions of children malnourished. The photographer Lynsey Addario documented the devastation. Take a look<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Lives lived:<\/strong> Paulin Hountondji,<\/a> a philosopher from Benin who helped transform African intellectual life, has died. He was 81.<\/p>\n Major League Baseball\u2019s season begins today. It should be a good game: The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing the San Diego Padres. But the setting is the most interesting part.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The game will be played at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where South Korea\u2019s raucous fan culture is punctuated by fight songs, drummers and dancers<\/a>. The star will undoubtedly be Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, the Japanese Dodger who many Koreans have embraced despite the intense rivalry between the two countries.<\/p>\n
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