[4] The pan-democratic camp, legal professionals, human rights organisations and politicians abroad have criticised the decision as a threat to the "one country, two systems" principle, the rule of law and civil liberties.

The constitutionality of the inclusion of such laws in Annex III, whilst defended in a press release by the Department of Justice[10] and by some members of the legal community,[11] has been disputed by the Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA).

The decision, that may be translated from Chinese language as "Decision of the National People's Congress on Establishing and Perfecting the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Maintain National Security" (全国人民代表大会关于建立健全香港特别行政区维护国家安全的法律制度和执行机制的决定), comprises 7 articles, the Chinese text was published by state papers on 28 May 2020.

"[20] On 30 June 2020, the NPCSC unanimously passed the Hong Kong national security law,[21] which was subsequently gazetted on the same day and officially came into force.

[27] The main articles of the new law can be paraphrased as follows: Added details about Article 43 emerged after the meeting of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), headed by Carrie Lam, and were published on 6 July 2020; the added details state that: The same day, 6 July 2020, Facebook and WhatsApp said they suspended requests from Hong Kong Government about user data.

[31][32] The Guardian's China specialists Tania Branigan and Lily Kuo wrote that the protest movement in Hong Kong changed after the NPC announcement of the law, with the mood shifting to one where many Hong Kong protestors are willing and prepared to die for the cause of keeping Mainland Chinese influence out, and with calls to find an impactful and permanent solution to Mainland Chinese interference, rather than small-scale measures.

A rare slogan, calling for complete independence rather than more control, became the unifying chant of the protests, while the concept of "laam chau" gained momentum.

[42] The Taiwanese government said that they would help anyone leaving Hong Kong find passage away; China threatened "all means" against Taiwan but also said violence would be a last resort.

[43] SCMP reported that after the decision on the law, the number of Hong Kong residents speaking to estate agents about properties in the United Kingdom (UK) rose rapidly.

One article compared it to the mass exodus seen before the 1997 handover, also saying that local estate agents were cutting the asking prices for Hong Kong properties to keep business.

[44] Another SCMP article noted that the British announcement of BNO extension plans likely contributed to the rise in searches for UK homes specifically, with properties in London, Birmingham and Manchester being especially desirable.

[45] Immigration agencies in Hong Kong also saw a jump in inquiries, with one company seeing "a four to fivefold increase in cases", citing a new urgency, with people asking for the visa that will be approved the fastest.

On 6 June 2020, 17 out 18 District Councils unprecedentedly held a joint meeting to discuss the legislation of the national security law, with 329 out of 458 councillors attending.

The convener Clarisse Yeung, who is also the chairwoman of the Wan Chai District Council, stated that the result of the meeting reflects the real public opinion in Hong Kong.

Lee Cheuk-yan said that the law could be used as an arbitrary "one-size-fits-all" charge against activists, citing Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo's prison sentence of 11 years for "inciting subversion".

Pompeo called the NPCSC decision the "latest in a series of actions that fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms".

[56][57][58] On 19 June 2020, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Beijing's unilateral introduction of the national security legislation in Hong Kong, and called for the finalization of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Mechanism, which could be used to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions, for example assets freezing, on Chinese officials responsible for the national security legislation.