Hong Kong Details New Powers Under China’s Draconian Security Law

A large display showing the Goddess of Democracy (top C) and lettering that reads 'Free HK' is seen a stall on a pavement near Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2020, after an annual vigil that traditionally takes place in the park to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown was banned on public health grounds because of the coronavirus pandemic. Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images

HONG KONG—Hong Kong released additional details of China’s new national security law for the former British colony on July 6, saying security forces had overriding authority to enter and search properties for evidence and stop people from leaving the city.

Hong Kong returned to China on July 1, 1997, under a “one country, two systems” formula guaranteeing wide-ranging autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent judiciary.