In early May 2020, the Chinese Government announced plans to draft a new national security law for Hong Kong, something required under Hong Kong Basic Law but which should explicitly be written and enacted by Hong Kong's own government. In response to apparent mainland intent to bypass Hong Kong's local legislature, the United Kingdom – which administered Hong Kong until 1997 – announced that if a security law drafted by China was approved, Britain would open a route for all Hong Kong residents born under British rule to become British citizens. Other nations and organisations have given various responses to the decision, to legislation plans, and ultimately the law itself as passed by the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 28 May 2020 with 2878 votes "for", 1 vote against, and 6 blank votes. At 9:30 am, 30 June 2020, the same Standing Committee unanimously voted to enact the law. The law became effective at 11 pm on the same day.

Responses to the May 2020 decision

United States US to reduce special treatment of Hong Kong as separate from the Mainland On 27 May, US Secretary of State Pompeo called the decision the "latest in a series of actions that fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms", and certified to Congress under the Hong Kong Policy Act that Hong Kong was no longer autonomous. Sanctions, higher tariffs and visa restrictions may follow the certification; David Stilwell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said that the target of any decision would be "officials in Beijing", not those in Hong Kong or the United States. On 29 May, Donald Trump said that his administration would end Hong Kong's trade privileges. Under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act, Hong Kong is treated for trade and other purposes as separate from the rest of China; for example, it has mostly not been directly affected by US tariffs on Chinese goods in the US-China trade war; however, if Hong Kong is determined to no longer be sufficiently autonomous, such preferential treatment may cease.

Other US proposals Two US senators, Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Chris Van Hollen, said they plan to introduce a bill that "would introduce legislation to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for violating Hong Kong's independence." On 24 May 2020, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien says the US will impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China if the security law is passed.

Various US politicians have expressed disapproval of corporate decisions related to the protests. On 29 May 2020, Trump ordered the removal of the special status enjoyed by Hong Kong due to Beijing's new national security law for the territory. Trump announced that the extradition treaty between Hong Kong and the US would be affected, that US travel guidance for the territory would be changed, and that officials who undermined Hong Kong's freedoms would be sanctioned. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that following this new law, the United States no longer recognised Hong Kong as an autonomous region, which could deteriorate the economic special status of the region, and threaten foreign investment in China.

Other countries Criticism and concern over the national security law Several statements urging respect for the One country, two systems principle, adherence to human rights norms, and local consultation were issued by the European Union; Japan; Switzerland; the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia as a group, especially concerned with Sino-British Joint Declaration; both the governing Democratic Progressive Party and opposition Kuomintang in Taiwan; the United States; and a group of over 356 parliamentarians from 32 countries led by Chris Patten.

Support for the national security law China, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe expressed their support to the law at the UNHRC.

Russia, North Korea, Cuba, Pakistan, Venezuela, Serbia, Syria, Iran, Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Myanmar said that no foreign state should interfere in China's internal affairs, and accused the US for doing so.

Responses before the law's enactment

United Kingdom

The UK, of which Hong Kong is a former colony, encouraged China to back down on the security law per the provisions of the Sino-British Joint Declaration: terms of the UK handing sovereignty of Hong Kong to China included allowing Hong Kong to maintain autonomy and its British-based form of governance. British First Secretary and Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Dominic Raab explained the British perspective of needing to step in with China violating the Joint Declaration in their attempts to pursue the law. On 3 June, the Chinese government announced that they consider the Joint Declaration to have become void as soon as power was transferred in 1997.

On 2 June both Raab and the Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy announced that the UK should set about creating a large international alliance beyond the Five Eyes to pressure China into stepping back on the matter of Hong Kong security, as well as to counter the "pro-China global alliance" that Raab said Beijing had formed to intimidate countries that oppose it. Calls for such an alliance had been voiced on 1 June by seven former Foreign Secretaries of the UK.

Raab continued to urge China to uphold the promises it made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a legally binding international treaty. The UK had already stopped selling crowd control equipment to the HKPF by June 2020.

The UK produces a Report on Hong Kong every six months, backdated, with one written and published by Raab on schedule on 11 June 2020 (covering the last six months of 2019). In this report, Raab more firmly warns China against interference and reiterates the UK's right to comment on Hong Kong. Raab said that Beijing's "plans to impose new security laws bypassing the Hong Kong legislature are in direct conflict with international law". The report requests that China abstain from interfering in the September elections in Hong Kong, and accuses the Chinese government of torturing an employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong, Simon Cheng, who visited the Mainland for a business trip. In November 2019, Cheng reported in an interview with the BBC that he had been tortured by Chinese officials during his 15-day detention in China in August 2019. Raab released a statement saying that he was "outraged by the disgraceful mistreatment". In response to the political and media backlash, Chinese state media later released footage of Cheng's confession of "soliciting prostitutes", and CCTV footage of him entering and leaving a clubhouse. Cheng stated that he had made the confession under threat that he would be unable to contact his family and be detained indefinitely. Cheng was given political asylum in the UK on 1 July 2020.

Six days later, the UK said that a new human rights law, which has been stalled in Whitehall for several months, could be used to "sanction Chinese officials if Beijing presses ahead" with the national security law. The British law is to be a form of Magnitsky legislation, for the government to sanction those who commit acts repressing human rights.

Extending Hong Kong British national rights

In late May and early June 2020, members of the British Cabinet also announced measures to provide a route to British citizenship for 3 million Hong Kong residents. On 3 June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that if China were to continue pursuing the law, he would allow Hong Kong residents to claim a British National (Overseas) passport (BNO) and open a path to British citizenship for them. Raab said that the UK would sacrifice trade deals with China to support Hong Kong, but that presently it will remain in conversation with the international community on the matter. Chinese foreign minister Zhao Lijian threatened the UK in response, while Hong Kong protestors felt that the British offer did not go far enough. Hong Kong barrister Martin Lee, who helped draft the Basic Law, thought the UK was being generous but said that "no matter how generous you are in the provision of passports and so on, there are still large numbers of people who are not eligible for one reason or another", highlighting the vast number of oppressed protestors who are young people, born after the handover. Lee later called for the UK to take China to International Court of Justice.

Raab had announced on 28 May that the UK were considering extending BNO rights to give right of abode, which Zhao acknowledged would be an internal British policy change, but still claimed China would have "the right to take countermeasures". Raab delivered his proposal to the House of Commons on 2 June, and was ambivalent about whether it would only apply to the current BNO passport holders, telling the Commons: "we have said that we will allow the approximately 300,000-plus passport holders, along with their dependents, to come to the UK". His measure plans to allow BNO passport holders to apply for a visa, remain in the UK for an initial period of twelve months instead of six as previously, allow them to apply to study and work, and thereby provide them a path to citizenship.

Further to Raab's proposal the day before, Johnson's 3 June announcement would cover the approximately 3 million Hong Kong residents born before 1997. He was less ambivalent on whether only people who had applied for a BNO passport before the handover in 1997 would be eligible, writing in The Times:

The extent of the scheme was clarified on 12 June 2020 by Home Secretary Priti Patel in correspondence with Johnson. All people eligible for BNO status, as well as their dependents, will be allowed to enter the UK under the scheme. Patel expressed that 'dependents' would include partners and any children under 18 – this is criticised for leaving a gap of young adults born after 1997 who will not be able to access the scheme. She did add that Hong Kong residents could start to come to the UK without restrictions while the scheme is still being set up, if the national security law is passed. On 1 July, Johnson announced the full plans, extending the visa-free period. He said that all BNO passport holders and their dependents would be granted right to remain in the UK for five years, including being free to work and study. After five years they can, under normal British nationality law, apply for settled status and then, a year later, for citizenship. Raab said that an application process designed to be simple and streamlined would be created, and that there would be no quota on how many Hong Kong residents can come to the UK under the scheme.

European Union