China approves Hong Kong security law as tensions with U.S. rise

China’s parliament approved the proposal to impose a new national security law for Hong Kong, and paves the way for the legislation to be finalized and implemented in the city.

The NPC voted 2,878 to 1 in favor of the bill, which will pave the way for its Standing Committee — a smaller decision-making body — to proceed to working out details of the legislation to be implemented in Hong Kong. Six abstained from the vote.

Premier Li Keqiang, the country’s second-in-command, said after the vote that the decision to implement the law was “designed for steady implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ and Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.”

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China that is ruled under a “one country, two systems” principle, which allows the city some freedoms that those on the mainland do not have. That includes self-governing power, limited election rights, and a largely separate legal and economic framework from mainland China.