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Hong Kong has seen repeated protests over China's moves to gain greater control of the semi-autonomous region.

China begins reviewing controversial Hong Kong national security Bill

China has said it is determined to enact the law and its passage is expected by Tuesday.

CHINA’S LEGISLATURE HAS begun reviewing a controversial national security bill for Hong Kong that critics say will severely compromise human rights in the semi-autonomous territory.

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee took up the Bill at the start of a three-day session, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.

China has said it is determined to enact the law and its passage is expected by Tuesday.

The US says it will respond by ending favourable trading terms granted to the former British colony after it passed to Chinese control in 1997.

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a Bill to impose sanctions on businesses and individuals — including the police — that undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy or restrict freedoms promised to the city’s residents.

The Senate Bill targets police units that have cracked down on Hong Kong protesters, as well as Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for imposing the national security law.

The measure also would impose sanctions on banks that do business with entities found to violate the law.

Last week, a former United Nations human rights chief and eight former UN special envoys urged the body’s secretary-general to appoint a special envoy on Hong Kong over what they said is a pending “humanitarian tragedy”.

Britain has said it would grant passports to as many as three million of Hong Kong’s 7.8 million people.

Beijing has denounced all such moves as gross interference in its internal affairs.

The law would criminalise secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security.

Critics say Hong Kong’s legal statutes already account for such matters and that Beijing is determined to use the law to pursue political opponents.

The central government in Beijing also would set up a national security office in Hong Kong to collect and analyse intelligence and deal with criminal cases related to national security.

Few details have been released but it appears that Beijing will have ultimate power over government appointments, further reducing the relative independence it promised to Hong Kong in a 1984 joint declaration with Britain that is considered an international treaty.

The measures have been widely seen as the most significant erosion to date of Hong Kong’s British-style rule of law and high degree of autonomy that China promised Hong Kong would have under a “one country, two systems” principle.

China has long demanded such a law for Hong Kong but efforts were shelved in the face of massive protests in 2003.

Beijing appeared to have lost its patience in the face of widespread and often violent anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong last year, moving to circumvent the city’s own legislative council and enact the law at the national level on what critics say are weak legal grounds.

On Sunday, opponents of the Bill staged a protest in Hong Kong, with police using pepper spray and arresting 53 people “on suspicion of unlawful assembly,” according to Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK.as

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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute @Anthonyweim
    Favourite @Anthonyweim
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    Jan 7th 2021, 6:36 PM

    Fantastic idea.

    295
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    Mute Anthony Clark
    Favourite Anthony Clark
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    Jan 7th 2021, 6:37 PM

    Nice work!

    Also having the projects viewable online this year is very good – it’s usually not possible to see the projects in any detail, even when you visit RDS – Young Scientist should do it like this every year.

    131
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    Mute Paul Riordan
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:09 PM

    I never realised how easy it was to fall asleep at the wheel untill it happened to me. On the M7. Going 120 kph I fell asleep I literally didn’t realise it (Obviously). my wife was beside me asleep . Luckily my car had some lane technology and “bumped” me back in and of course woke me up. All this in about 3 seconds. I shudder to think what might have been.

    54
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    Mute Michael J Hartnett
    Favourite Michael J Hartnett
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    Jan 7th 2021, 8:18 PM

    @Paul Riordan: quite dangerous. It’s very easy to happen. Trying to stay awake on long journeys requires a lot of self awareness and experience.

    19
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    Mute John Kinsella
    Favourite John Kinsella
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    Jan 7th 2021, 6:46 PM

    My 2019 Renault Mégane has that feature! Seriously.

    50
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    Mute Paul Gorry
    Favourite Paul Gorry
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    Jan 7th 2021, 6:52 PM

    @John Kinsella: ye bought a Renault?seriously.

    126
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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
    Favourite ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Jan 7th 2021, 6:55 PM

    @John Kinsella: My van has it too. Very annoying on long journeys.

    16
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    Mute Darren Byrne
    Favourite Darren Byrne
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:09 PM

    @John Kinsella: wouldn’t be surprised. They’ve been selling devices that do the same thing for years

    8
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    Mute Dave O'Looney
    Favourite Dave O'Looney
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    Jan 7th 2021, 10:09 PM

    @John Kinsella: I wouldn’t be telling anyone you have a Renault. Scarlehhh

    4
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    Mute Rory J Leonard
    Favourite Rory J Leonard
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    Jan 8th 2021, 5:46 AM

    @John Kinsella:

    Even so… this young lady is an inventor already and she’ll either fine tune what’s in the market already, or come up with another good idea to research for market potential.

    2
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    Mute Celtic Spirit
    Favourite Celtic Spirit
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    Jan 7th 2021, 6:49 PM

    Brilliant idea. That student might have a creative life ahead of them!

    45
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    Mute Tony Hickey
    Favourite Tony Hickey
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:00 PM

    Is that not in use already- my car has it and it works

    35
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    Mute The Bolt
    Favourite The Bolt
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:05 PM

    @Tony Hickey: Have it as well. Lane assist it’s called.

    12
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    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
    Favourite Fr. Fintan Stack
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:26 PM

    @The Bolt: On a positive note. My car doesn’t. So it would be great to have something you can retrofit.

    33
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    Mute Billbond4
    Favourite Billbond4
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    Jan 7th 2021, 9:22 PM

    There is different forms of it, the most common is Lane assistance.
    Her idea will probably be to add heart beat sensors into the steering wheel, so it will be in addition to other sensors, it’s a great idea.
    You could do something similar with cameras and monitor your eyes while driving

    26
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    Mute Divad Nayr
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:13 PM

    Already exists on cars .

    21
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    Mute Jules
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    Jan 7th 2021, 8:34 PM

    My car has this, it’s been around for a number of years

    12
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    Mute Hugh Mc Donnell
    Favourite Hugh Mc Donnell
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    Jan 7th 2021, 7:33 PM

    Maybe they could just start giving delivery drivers in light commercial vans mandatory rest breaks and tea breaks and actually monitor the amount of hours they have been driving on the build up to Christmas with all the online shopping. I’ve heard horror stories off in excess of 80hrs a week doing ridiculous runs all over the place

    15
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    Mute ciaran enright
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    Jan 8th 2021, 1:17 AM

    I always maintained if you replaced the airbag with a 8″ chiefs knife it would solve a lots of problems

    5
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    Mute Leonard Barry
    Favourite Leonard Barry
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    Jan 8th 2021, 1:59 AM

    @ciaran enright: With you in the driving seat.

    3
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    Mute Rory J Leonard
    Favourite Rory J Leonard
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    Jan 8th 2021, 5:41 AM

    @ciaran enright:

    External sensors linked to your auto pilot might be the healthier option.

    2
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