Police detain 47 activists in Hong Kong

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police on Sunday detained 47 pro-democracy activists on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the city’s national security law, the largest mass charge against the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s opposition camp since the law came into effect last June.

The former lawmakers and democracy advocates previously had been arrested in a police operation in January but were released. They have been detained again and will appear in court on Monday, police said in a statement.

Police said they violated the national security law imposed by Beijing for participating in unofficial election primaries for Hong Kong’s legislature last year.

The defendants include 39 men and eight women ages between 23 and 64, police said.

The move is part of a crackdown on the city’s democracy movement, with a string of arrests and prosecutions of Hong Kong’s democracy proponents — including activists Joshua Wong and Jimmy Lai — after months of anti-government protests in 2019.

The pro-democracy camp had held the primaries to determine the best candidates to field to win a majority in the legislature and had plans to vote down major bills, forcing Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to resign.

In January, 55 activists and former lawmakers were arrested for their roles in the primaries.

Authorities said that the activists’ participation was part of a plan to paralyze the city’s legislature and subvert state power.

The legislative election that would have followed the unofficial primaries was postponed by a year by Lam, who cited public health risks during the coronavirus pandemic. Mass resignations and disqualifications of pro-democracy lawmakers have left the legislature largely a pro-beijing body.