Heaviest penalty in new HK security law is life imprisonment: Global Times editor

BEIJING (Reuters) - The heaviest penalty that can be imposed in China's new national security law for Hong Kong is life imprisonment, the editor in chief of the Global Times newspaper said on Tuesday, citing people who have seen the draft of the law.

Hu Xijin said on Twitter that official information on the new legislation, which he says was passed by "China's top legislature" earlier, will be released later in the day.

He gave no further details, such as what crimes could lead to a life sentence under the law.

The Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.

(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue)