(Adds details of security law throughout and quote from EU paragraph 9)

HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong government on Friday published its draft of a new national security law, a document being closely scrutinized by some foreign diplomats, lawyers and businesses amid fears it could further dent freedoms in the financial hub.

The draft, including new laws encompassing treason, espionage, external interference, state secrets and sedition, follows a month-long consultation that ended last week.

It includes sentences of up to life imprisonment for treason, 20 years for espionage and 10 years for offenses linked to state secrets and sedition.

The city's Legislative Council will start debating the bill at 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Friday, the first of several sessions that could stretch over several weeks.

Hong Kong leader John Lee urged lawmakers to pass the bill "at full speed."

"The geopolitics has become increasingly complex, and national security risks remain imminent," a government statement said. "The means taken to endanger national security can come in many different forms and the threat can emerge all of a sudden."

The debate starts as China's national parliament in Beijing moved on Friday to create a slew of new national security laws.

CONCERNS OVER FREEDOMS

Lawyers analyzing the draft said, at first glance, elements of the sentences for the offenses are similar to Western versions but some provisions, such as those for sedition and state secrets, were broader and potentially tougher than colonial-era laws.

The European Union had said in an earlier statement that it had made clear in a diplomatic note its "grave concerns" over the far-reaching provisions on "external interference" and the law's extra-territorial reach.

The bill also proposed extending police detention for those arrested, without charge, for up to 14 days, compared to just 48 hours currently.

The sentences for sedition have been expanded from two to up to 10 years for offenses in collusion with foreign forces.

The bill proposes a jail term of up to 3 years for possessing a seditious publication and police have the right to search any premise to seize and destroy such material.

In other offenses, such as state secrets, limited public interest defenses have been allowed and the bill notes Hong Kong's traditional freedoms.

"Human rights are to be respected and protected, the rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, of the press and of publication, the freedoms of association ... are to be protected" the bill reads.

The definition of state secrets is also being closely scrutinized, given Hong Kong's long-standing role as a business, academic and media hub for China and the region.

The draft appears quite broad, some lawyers said, saying it includes military, security and diplomatic secrets as well as classified social, economic and technological information involving China and Hong Kong governments, and their relationship.

Lee and other Hong Kong and Chinese officials have defended the bill against criticism from some Western governments and activists, including the U.S., who say it risks further curbing freedoms in former British colony if the law is too vague.

The Hong Kong government has pointed out that many Western nations have similar legislation, and that these laws are required to plug "loopholes" in the national security regime, which was bolstered in 2020 by another national security law imposed directly by China.

Hong Kong and Chinese officials said the 2020 law was vital to restoring stability after sometimes violent pro-democracy protests a year earlier.

They have also noted the new package has long been required under Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.

That document guides the city's relationship with Beijing since its 1997 return to Chinese rule. Article 23 stipulates the city "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit acts and activities that endanger national security." (Reporting by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Writing by Greg Torode; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Lincoln Feast and Miral Fahmy.)