Hong Kong's pro-democracy campaigners called for fresh protests on Sunday, their first test after China sparked outrage with a proposed new security law that many fear will spell the end of the city's treasured freedoms.

The proposed legislation is expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition, and follows repeated warnings from Beijing that it will no longer tolerate dissent in Hong Kong, which was shaken by months of massive, sometimes violent anti-government protests last year.

Through messaging apps and social media, activists asked pro-democracy supporters to gather Sunday afternoon in one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping districts, seeking to revive their movement which previously fizzled as arrests mounted and, later, as large gatherings were banned to stop the coronavirus.

"We are back! See you on the streets on May 24!" read what appeared to be fresh graffiti near a subway station in the Kowloon Tong district on Saturday, as concerns mounted of more unrest and instability in Hong Kong.

More than 8,300 people have been arrested since the protests erupted last year. Around 200 were detained during small rallies at malls on Mother's Day earlier this month.

The planned Sunday protests do not have official permission, and Hong Kong's police force warned it would take action against any unauthorised assembly, and also cited current coronavirus-linked rules against public gatherings larger than eight people.

"The police will deploy adequate manpower in relevant locations tomorrow and take resolute law enforcement action and make arrests as appropriate," it said in a statement on Saturday.

With the fear of more arrests and the virus-linked ban on gatherings, it was unclear how many would participate or if the protests would be held at multiple locations.

Hong Kong residents enjoy rights -- including freedom of speech -- unseen on the mainland as part of the agreement that saw the British colony handed back to China in 1997, and the city has its own legal system and trade status.

Fears had been growing for years that Beijing was chipping away at those freedoms and tightening its control on the city, and campaigners have described the new proposal as the most brazen move yet.

Of particular concern is a provision allowing Chinese security agents to operate in Hong Kong, and that they could launch a crackdown against those dissenting against the mainland's Communist rulers.

- 'Disastrous proposal' -

A top pro-Beijing official, however, claimed on Saturday that mainland law enforcement would not operate in Hong Kong without "approval" from local authorities.

"I'm not worried about anybody being arrested by a police officer from the mainland and then taken back to China for investigation or punishment," Maria Tam, a Hong Kong law advisor to the Chinese parliament, told AFP.

"It is not, not, not going to happen."

Hong Kong's unpopular pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam has defended the new proposal, saying it was necessary to protect national security and punish "violent political elements".

But there is deep mistrust of China's opaque legal system in Hong Kong and of how Beijing might use such regulations in the city -- the massive protests last year were sparked by a now-scrapped bill that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland.

The new proposal could prove even more wide-ranging than that plan, and several Western governments have voiced alarm.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged China to reconsider the "disastrous proposal", saying it would "be a death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for Hong Kong".

China's legislature is expected to rubber-stamp the draft resolution on Thursday, the last day of the annual parliamentary gathering, before the details are fleshed out at another meeting at a later date.

Officials have said the law would then be implemented locally.

Hong Kong's controversial security law: what is it and why does China want it?
Hong Kong (AFP) May 22, 2020 - China's parliament has proposed introducing a new security law in Hong Kong, a move expected to fan fresh protests in the semi-autonomous financial hub.

The proposal, which has been condemned by the United States and Hong Kong pro-democracy figures as an assault on the city's freedoms, was submitted for deliberation on Friday.

- Why has China moved to impose the law? -

Article 23 of Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, says the city must enact national security legislation to prohibit "treason, secession, sedition (and) subversion" against the Chinese government.

Hong Kong has been trying to introduce a law for years but pro-democracy demonstrations that paralysed the city last year have pushed the issue up the agenda and galvanised Beijing.

Last month, Beijing's top official in Hong Kong, Liaison Office director Luo Huining, said the city urgently needed a new national security law to combat violent protesters and independence advocates.

On Friday Wang Chen, vice chairman of the National People's Congress's (NPC) Standing Committee, its actual law-making organ, warned "powerful measures" were needed to curb the city's pro-democracy movement.

- How do people in Hong Kong feel about it? -

Article 23 has never been implemented due to public fears it would curtail Hong Kong's cherished rights, such as freedom of expression and the press.

Those liberties are unseen on the mainland and are protected by an agreement made before Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

An attempt to enact the clause in 2003 was shelved after half a million people took to the streets in protest against it. Then security chief Regina Ip had to resign following the failure.

China's move would authorise its lawmakers to circumvent Hong Kong's legislature and directly enact the legislation at a future date.

- What will happen next? -

China's legislature is expected to rubber stamp the draft resolution on Thursday, the last day of the annual parliamentary gathering, before the details are fleshed out next month at another meeting of the NPC.

Wang said the law would then be implemented locally, an unprecedented move that could spark a further wave of protests.

In a statement Friday, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam vowed to "fully cooperate" with Beijing over the law.

The Hong Kong government will "complete the legislation as soon as possible to discharge its responsibility of safeguarding national security," said Lam, who is attending the NPC.

Jimmy Sham, leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised the million-person rally that kicked off last year's unrest, appealed Friday for millions to come out on the streets once again.

- What does this mean for 'One country, Two systems'? -

Pro-democracy lawmakers have said the legislation marks the end of 'One country, Two systems' -- a reference to the handover agreement that has given Hong Kong a limited form of autonomy since returning from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

Even before the proposed security law, there were fears that Beijing was steadily eroding those freedoms.

"This is the end of Hong Kong, this is the end of One Country, Two Systems, make no mistake about it," said Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok.

"They (Beijing) are now completely walking back on their obligation owed to the Hong Kong people."

Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan warned that the legislation "makes us feel that One Country, One System has officially been implemented in Hong Kong."

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