Hong Kong — Chinese lawmakers have approved a proposal for sweeping new national security legislation in Hong Kong, defying a threat by US President Donald Trump to respond strongly to a measure that democracy advocates say will curb essential freedoms in the city.

The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber-stamp legislature, approved the draft decision by a vote of 2,878-1 on Thursday at its annual session in Beijing, with six abstentions. Chinese officials could now take months to sort out the details of laws banning subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference before they’re given to Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed administration to promulgate...

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