DOZENS ARRESTED IN SWEEPING HONG KONG CRACKDOWN UNDER NATIONAL SECURITY LAW

Wed 06 January 2021:

Dozens of former lawmakers and opposition activists were arrested Wednesday morning in Hong Kong, on suspicion of violating the city’s sweeping national security legislation, in the biggest crackdown yet since the law was imposed by Beijing last year.

Police confirmed 53 people between the ages of 23 and 64 had been detained in the raids, which began in the early morning and are the biggest crackdown so far under a security law that was imposed by Beijing on June 30.

“They are suspected of subversion,” Superintendent Li Kwai-wah told the media.

Six were arrested for subverting state power by organising the unofficial primaries, while the rest were arrested for participating in the event, Li said. About 1,000 police took part in the raids, he said, warning that more arrests could be made.

Secretary for Security John Lee said the group had planned to cause “serious damage” to society and that authorities would not tolerate any subversive acts.

“The operation today targets the active elements who are suspected to be involved in the crime of overthrowing or interfering seriously to destroy the Hong Kong government’s legal execution of duties,” Lee told reporters.

The Democratic Party – the city’s largest opposition party – said earlier police arrested people for taking part in the candidate primaries for the now-delayed Legislative Council (Legco) election. 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.

Those arrested include former legislators, district councillors, academics, student activists, as well as the organisers of last year’s mass marches against a now shelved extradition bill.

“The Chinese government has decided to mark 2021 with sweeping arrests of over 50 prominent pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, removing the remaining veneer of democracy in the city,” Maya Wang, Human Rights Watch’s China researcher, said in a statement. “Beijing has one again failed to learn from its mistakes in Hong Kong: that repression generates resistance, and that millions of Hong Kong people will persist in their struggle for their right to vote and run for office in a democratically elected government.”

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