Hong Kong Police Arrest 53 Pro-Democracy Activists

TOPSHOT - Protesters are detained by police near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in H
ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
Gabrielle Reyes

Hong Kong police arrested 53 protesters on Tuesday evening in demonstrations attended by hundreds of activists to mark the one-year anniversary of the city’s pro-democracy movement, Reuters reported.

Police fired pepper spray into crowds of activists to disperse people, who reportedly blocked city roads. On Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested 36 men and 17 women for offenses including “unlawful assembly” and “participating in unauthorized assembly.” By convening in large numbers, the protesters defied a Hong Kong government ban on gatherings of eight or more people meant to curb the spread of Chinese coronavirus.

According to the report, more pro-democracy protests are planned in the coming days, as activists fear a recently passed draft national security law will further threaten Hong Kong’s precarious liberties. Since 1997, the former British colony has enjoyed relative autonomy from China under the conditions agreed to when it was transferred back from colonial rule. Last month, the National People’s Congress (NPC) – the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s rubber-stamp legislature – passed a draft law ostensibly focused on enforcing national security measures in Hong Kong. Most observers fear the law will effectively eliminate any of the city’s remaining freedoms.

On Wednesday, Chinese state media announced that an NPC committee will meet in Beijing later this month to evaluate various draft legislation, including the proposed Hong Kong national security law, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong Security Secretary John Lee told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Wednesday the city was already preparing a dedicated unit to enforce the coming national security law.

“The new body will have intelligence-gathering capability, we’ll have investigation capability, we’ll have an action arm,” Lee said.  The security minister added that Hong Kong police will be ready to enforce the new security measures from the “very first day” the legislation goes into effect.

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest movement was ignited last summer in response to proposed legislation that would have allowed Hong Kong nationals and other foreign nationals accused of crimes to be extradited to mainland China for trial.

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