Mass HK arrests point to wider crackdown
Fears mount that all democrats in danger
The mass arrests of Hong Kong opposition figures under a new security law has demolished assurances that only a “tiny majority” would be targeted, analysts say.
Benny Tai emerged from the police station squinting under the glare of camera lights about 36 hours after he was arrested by officers from Hong Kong’s new national security unit.
The 56-year-old law professor has previously been jailed for his democracy campaigning but he was shocked by the scale of last week’s operation. “Hong Kong has entered into a harsh winter, with fierce and cold winds blowing,” he said.
Over two days, more than 1,000 officers fanned out across the city and detained 55 democracy advocates on suspicion of “subversion”, one of the new crimes in the broadly worded security law.
The list of those arrested reads like who’s who of the democracy movement; from veteran moderates and former lawmakers to lawyers, academics, social workers and youth activists.
“This whole thing is targeted at democrats across the board, across the spectrum,” said former lawmaker Claudia Mo, one of those arrested.
Activists say their worst fears have come true and that the new law is not the scalpel Beijing promised would only be used to excise genuine threats to China’s national security — it is a sledgehammer.
After his release on bail, former lawmaker Ray Chan referred to a speech last year by city leader Carrie Lam.
“Carrie Lam said the national security law would affect only a small number of people,” he said. “Instead Hong Kong has become the city in China with the greatest number of people accused of committing national security offences.”
Ms Lam gave that speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council the day the security law was imposed, its contents kept secret until the moment it was enacted.
“It will only target an extremely small minority of people,” she assured listeners. “Basic rights and freedoms of the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong residents will be protected.”
Yet both the wording of the security law and how authorities have wielded it has done little to convince sceptics.
Last week the UN’s rights office said: “As had been feared, the offence of subversion under the National Security Law is indeed being used to detain individuals for exercising legitimate rights to participate in political and public life”.
What shocked many observers was the “offence” that Hong Kong police considered subversion.
Those arrested, said Hong Kong security chief John Lee, were trying to “overthrow” the government.
Victoria Hui, an expert at the University of Notre Dame in the United States, said the arrests confirm the security law overrides the Basic Law — the miniconstitution which had once guaranteed Hong Kong would maintain certain freedoms.
“It is clearly meant to ... impose direct mainland rule on Hong Kong,” she said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned that fresh sanctions could be imposed but Beijing has shrugged off that threat, aided in part by the European Union agreeing a China trade deal despite years of mounting rights concerns.