Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has passed a new national security law today that expands the government’s power to crush dissent.

According to media reports, the Safeguarding National Security Law includes new measures on treason, espionage, external interference, state secrets and sedition. It also grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The authorities said that the law is necessary for stability, however critics fear that it will further erode civil liberties