FIRST ARREST UNDER NEW SECURITY LAW IN HONG KONG
Hong Kong police made their first arrests under a new national security law imposed by China's central government, arresting at least seven people suspected of violating the legislation during protests on Wednesday.
At least two people were arrested for carrying flags and signs calling for Hong Kong's independence.
One man with a Hong Kong independence flag was arrested at a protest in the city's Causeway Bay shopping district after police issued multiple warnings to the crowd that they might be in violation of the law, according to a police statement on Twitter.
Police later arrested another woman for holding up a sign displaying the British flag and calling for Hong Kong's independence. Further details were not immediately available.
Hong Kong police said on Facebook that they had arrested more than 180 people on various charges, including unlawful assembly, possession of weapons and violating the national security law.
The law makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city's internal affairs. Any person taking part in secessionist activities, such as shouting slogans or holding up banners and flags calling for the city's independence, is violating the law regardless of whether violence is used.
The arrests come less than 24 hours after the law was imposed by China following last year's antigovernment protests in the semiautonomous territory. The law took effect on Tuesday at 11 pm.
The most serious offenders, such as those deemed to be masterminds behind the crimes, could receive a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. Lesser offenders could receive jail terms of up to three years, short-term detention or restriction.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong police used water cannon Wednesday to disperse small groups of protesters who gathered in a popular shopping district in defiance of a ban on rallies. AFP reporters saw a water cannon truck fire multiple bursts of liquid laced with a stinging pepper solution, hitting protesters and journalists in Causeway Bay.