Hong Kong to submit new national security bill to legislature this week

The Hong Kong government said in a statement on Thursday it would gazette the "Article 23" national security bill and submit it to the local legislature for scrutiny on Friday.

The move to enact new laws encompassing offences including espionage, state secrets and sedition, comes little over a week after a month-long public consultation period for the bill concluded.

Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, said in the statement that Article 23 enactment should be conducted "as soon as possible" in order to effectively safeguard national security.