Withdrawal of leaders from HK secessionist group shows deterrence of national security law

The deterrent effect of the National Security Law for Hong Kong has begun to show, as three infamous secessionist leaders in Hong Kong - Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Agnes Chow - announced their withdrawal from anti-government group Demosisto Tuesday morning, hours after China's top legislature reportedly voted to pass the law, experts said. 

Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow made the announcement on their Facebook pages, while Nathan Law, the chair of Demosisto, made the announcement on Twitter Tuesday morning. Demosisto, an organization founded in 2016 dedicated to secessionist work, also announced the disbanding of its headquarters and members in Hong Kong Tuesday morning.

One netizen named Tong Zhao commented under Chow's announcement, "Did you guys discuss this in advance? [Your] 'America dad' cut off aid, so [you guys] now want to run away."

Victor Chan Chi-ho, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Young Commentators, told the Global Times Tuesday that Demosisto has been colluding with foreign forces and advocating extreme separatist ideas, which goes against the national security law.

Chan believes the withdrawal of the three key figures from this secessionist group means that they want to avoid legal risks, which shows the deterrent effect of the law and the necessity for the central government to enact the law for Hong Kong.

Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) from Hong Kong, earlier suggested that the punishment for violating the national security law would be three to 10 years in prison, while some other deputies to the NPC suggested suspects may face more severe punishments.

Ip Kwok-him, a Hong Kong deputy to the NPC and also an executive councilor, told the Global Times in a previous interview, "Considering that in countries like the US, the penalty for offences such as subversion, secession and disclosure of information to the enemy may be life imprisonment, there is no reason why China's national security laws need to be loose." 

Following Demosisto's announcement, pro-independence local group Hong Kong National Front also announced on Tuesday it was disbanding its Hong Kong branch.