In his article published in Hong Kong Free Press, writer Kent Ewing said: "Here we are eight years on and Hong Kong’s education system—from its primary through its tertiary institutions—has never been more imperilled; nor have its young people ever been more threatened and bullied by the very public officials who are supposed to be guardians of the freedoms they were guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law."

"There is a reason 40 per cent of the 8,981 people arrested in anti-government protests that have raged over the last year were students, many of them still in secondary school. According to police, there were even eight primary students among those arrested," he said.

He said: "From the start, young people have been the engine of this movement, just as they were during the 79-day pro-democracy Occupy campaign back in 2014." 

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to China in 1997, and the Basic Law preserves its autonomy as a Special Administrative Region under the principle of “one country, two systems”.

The new security law will also be overriding any local laws that come in conflict with it, BBC reported.

The planned law has sparked protests against the Chinese government and also drawn international condemnation.