Riot police detain a group of people during a demonstration in Hong Kong on May 10. [Source: CNN]

China will move to pass a hugely controversial national security law for Hong Kong, in what could be the biggest blow to the city’s autonomy and civil liberties since its handover to Chinese rule in 1997.

The move by China’s rubber stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is meeting in Beijing this week, is sure to fuel further anger and protests in the city, which was rocked by over six months of increasingly violent anti-government unrest last year.

News of the plans was met with immediate criticism by opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong, human rights groups and the US State Department.