Now he says he wouldn't even transfer through Hong Kong airport for fear of being arrested under the city's new national security law.

That's because the legislation, which came into effect late Tuesday, doesn't only clamp down on freedoms at home. It also puts foreign citizens who criticize the Chinese government anywhere in the world at risk of jail if they even set foot in the city -- even if they are just transiting through the airport.

"It's really concerning and terrifying, not just for residents in Hong Kong but anyone who cares about human rights in Hong Kong and human rights in China, in general," said Badiucao from his home in Melbourne, Australia.

For decades -- first under British colonial rule and then after its handover to China -- Hong Kong has offered legal protection from the mainland Communist Party. Chinese dissents, Western academics and global non-governmental organizations used Hong Kong as a safe space to meet, organize and criticize Beijing, mostly without consequence.

Whether it can continue to serve that function is now in doubt.

"There are crimes covered by this law which are purely about speech and so there is a chance that your speech outside of the country will then expose you to risk should you enter the jurisdictions," said Jeremy Daum, senior fellow at the Yale Law Paul Tsai Center.

"Hong Kong used to be a safe space. It's no longer a safe space."

Section 38

On Wednesday, Hong Kong's top official, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, defended the new law, describing it as a "crucial step to ending chaos and violence that has occurred over the past few months" in the city.

The legislation was introduced by the central Chinese government in response to pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked Hong kong last year. Beijing saw the protests as a direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party, and blamed them on "foreign forces."

The law introduces four new crimes: secession, subversion, terrorist activities and collusion with a foreign country, which carry maximum sentences of life in prison.

Its primarily focus is on stopping local dissent. Yet section 38 has caught the eye of legal experts globally.

"This law shall apply to offenses under this law committed against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from outside the region by a person who is not a permanent resident of the region," is the unofficial translation of section 38 by state-run news agency Xinhua.

In short, even people who are not Chinese citizens and live outside of Hong Kong can fall foul of the new legislation.

Mainland China has a similar law, section 8 of the criminal code, but it can only apply if the crime is punishable in both China and the foreign country -- which means speaking out against the Communist Party likely would not be covered.

But section 38 of the Hong Kong national security law has no such exception. The act committed abroad only has to be considered a crime in Hong Kong.

The law isn't retroactive, whic

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