I discuss changes in the character and mechanisms of rule in the China–Hong Kong relationship after the promulgation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL). I focus on the broader impacts of this particular legal norm on political order. By building on institutionalist theories of direct and indirect rule, I argue that HKNSL and the following changes brought about a compounded (amalgamated) type of rule of China over Hong Kong. It is based on a blend of aspects and mechanisms that do not account for direct governance in the full sense but utilise some elements of it. The post-HKNSL situation entangles new ruling mechanisms with those that had existed previously but were updated and strengthened in the post-HKNSL aftermath.
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