Hong Kong police tear gas protesters
● Anger grows over Chinese plan for new national security laws
Hong Kong police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters in a popular shopping district yesterday, as thousands took to the streets to march against China’s proposed tough national security legislation for the city.
Pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong have sharply criticised the proposal last week to enact a national security law that would ban secessionist and subversive activity, as well as foreign interference. Critics say it goes against the “one country, two systems” framework that promises the city freedoms not found in mainland China.
Crowds of demonstrators dressed in black gathered yesterday afternoon in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district to protest against the proposed legislation. Protesters chanted slogans including “Stand with Hong Kong,” “Liberate Hong Kong” and “Revolution of our times.”
The protest was a continuation of a the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong that began last year and frequently descended into violence between police and protesters.
Police raised blue flags, warning protesters to disperse, before firing multiple rounds of tear gas. They later fired a water cannon at the demonstrators.
At least 120 people were arrested, mostly on charges of unlawful assembly, police said in a Facebook post.
They also said in a separate post that protesters threw bricks and splashed unidentified liquid at officers, injuring at least four members of the police’s media liaison team.
The bill that triggered the rally was submitted at China’s national legislative session on Friday and is expected to be passed on May 28. It would bypass Hong Kong’s legislature and allow the city’s government to set up mainland agencies in the city that would make it possible for Chinese agents to arbitrarily arrest people for activities deemed to be pro-democracy.
Speaking at the annual session of China’s ceremonial parliament in Beijing, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said that Hong Kong affairs were an internal matter for China, and that “no external interference will be tolerated”.
Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong prior to its handover to China, lamented what he called “a new Chinese dictatorship”.
“I think the Hong Kong people have been betrayed by China, which has proved once again that you can’t trust it further than you can throw it,” Patten said in an interview.