Dozens of Hong Kong democracy activists arrested in crackdown
Police in Hong Kong arrested dozens of opposition politicians and activists on Wednesday morning under the territory’s national security law, and accused of ‘subversion’ over the primaries democrats held last July to choose their candidates for legislative elections that were eventually cancelled.
Some 53 people had been detained as of midday (04:00 GMT), the South China Morning Post reported, citing a police source.
The raids, which began in the early morning, are the biggest crackdown so far under a security law that was imposed by Beijing on June 30.
Police arrested the activists for taking part in last July’s primaries for the now-delayed Legislative Council (Legco) election, the Democratic Party said on its Facebook page.
At the time, the Hong Kong government and Beijing both said the primaries, in which hundreds of thousands of people voted, could breach the national security law.
The candidate primaries were seen as an “act of subversion, in violation of the national security law”, the party said.
Those arrested include former lawmakers and district councilors, as well as student activists, the organisers of last year’s mass marches against the extradition bill and academics.
John Clancey, an American citizen working in a law firm that has represented many opposition politicians, was also detained, local media reported. Clancey is also the treasurer of the group that helped organise the primary.
The law punishes crimes of secession, sedition and collusion with foreign forces with terms of up to life in prison. The details of the legislation were not revealed until after it was passed.
The law prompted criticism that it would destroy the freedoms and autonomy that were promised for at least 50 years under the terms of the former British colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997.
The United States, already embroiled in a trade war with China, withdrew Hong Kong’s special status after the law was enacted saying the territory had lost its autonomy. It has also imposed sanctions on top officials from China and Hong Kong, including chief executive Carrie Lam.
On Wednesday, comments on Twitter from incoming US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken indicated the new administration, which will take office after Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, would maintain the tough stance.
Gregory Meeks, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the US, said the security law was being used to “ruthlessly attack Hong Kongers”.
Four people have been charged so far under the law including media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was returned to prison last month after the government appealed a court decision to allow him bail under strict conditions.
