World News

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52593646

Lawmakers in Macau, a city under Chinese rule, unanimously approved a bill on ​Thursday that allows court proceedings to be held behind ‌closed doors when deemed necessary to protect national security interests.

The city enacted its first national security law in 2009 and tightened ​it with amendments in 2023. Last July, leading democrat Au ​Kam San was arrested for alleged collusion with ⁠foreign forces to endanger national security, the first known ​arrest under that law.

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The Macau government said ​the approval had ​demonstrated the ⁠successful implementation of the principle of "patriots governing Macau".

Unlike in Hong Kong, which saw big social ​movements challenge Chinese Communist Party rule in ​2014 and ⁠2019, the democratic opposition in the former Portuguese colony has always existed on the fringes amid tight Chinese control.

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