The first attempt to implement the article was foiled by a massive street protest on 1 July 2003, when a half-million people marched through downtown Hong Kong.
It also noted the view that the provision was against the Sino-British Joint Declaration since “it is generally held that the capitalist system is anti-communist and will undermine national unity and subvert the Central People's Government”.
[4] The Emergency Regulations Ordinance (ERO) from the colonial period remains in force, but in 2019 the Court of First Instance ruled that it was "not compatible with the constitutional order laid down by the Basic Law" due to its unchecked and wide scope.
"[5] Before 1997, the British colonial government introduced the Crimes (Amendment)(No.2) Bill 1996 in an attempt to concretise the concepts of "subversion" and "secession" by confining them to actual violent conduct but of no avail.
[9] Xi Jinping's accession to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the top position in November 2012, marked a more hardline authoritarian approach, most notably with the construction of Xinjiang internment camps.
[12] On 12 January 2022, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced at the first session of the new legislature that new "local legislation" would be created to meet the requirements of Article 23.
[18] On 12 April 2022, Chief Executive John Lee stated that implementing security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law would be a top priority for him.
[21] Hong Kong's Security Bureau launched a public consultation on Article 23 legislation on 30 January 2024, which ended on 28 February 2024.
[22] A draft of the Safeguarding National Security Bill was introduced to the Legislative Council on 8 March 2024, which includes penalties up to life imprisonment for treason, insurrection and incitement of a member of Chinese armed forces to mutiny.