Hong Kong: hundreds arrested as security law comes into effect
More than 370 protesters in Hong Kong have been arrested as police fired teargas, pepper spray and water cannon at thousands of people protesting against a national security law imposed by Beijing.
The extent of Beijing’s mandate was made clear as full details of the law were released late on Tuesday, giving authorities sweeping powers to crack down on dissent and allowing China new levels of control over the semiautonomous territory.
On Wednesday, the 23rd anniversary of the handover from Britain to China and the first day under the new law, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, and government dignitaries from the city and Beijing drank champagne in celebration. Lam called th law “the most important development in relations” between Hong Kong and China since the 1997 handover.
By the afternoon, thousands of people had taken to the streets of Causeway Bay and Wanchai in defiance of protest bans. Police were seen pinning protesters to the ground, shooting pepper balls at people who heckled them, and targeting journalists with water cannon and rounds of pepper spray.
Police said 10 of the arrests were for offences related to the new security law, including holding signs or flags advocating for Hong Kong independence. Of those arrested, one was a 15-yearold girl who was waving a Hong Kong independence flag.
The clashes and arrests show how quickly the law has changed life for Hong Kong residents who have spent much of the last year watching or participating in anti-government and pro-democracy protests. Billboards advertising the law appeared overnight, and a barge with giant red and yellow lettering floated in Victoria Harbour to celebrate the law criminalising secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
According to police, the slogan “Hong Kong independence, the only way out” is now “suspected to be inciting or abetting others to commit secession and may therefore violate” the national security law.Other antigovernment slogans may also lead to charges under the crime of secession, while destruction of public transport or government offices may count as terrorism.
Police raised a new warning flag saying protesters could be breaching the law. “You are displaying flags or banners/chanting slogans/or conducting yourselves with an intent such as secession or subversion, which may constitute offences under the Hong Kong national security law,” the purple flag said.
“I am prepared for 10 years in jail,” said one protester, Chan, 34. “We need to keep our voices heard. This is what you have to do for freedoms and democracy.”
Police dragged a veteran prodemocracy legislator, Lee Cheuk Yan, down from a podium.
Seven police officers were injured, including at least one who was stabbed, according to the Hong Kong police.
Official statements on Wednesday raised further alarms about the law. Zhang Xiaoming, the executive director of the Hong Kong and Macao affairs office, confirmed long-held fears that the law would allow some cases to be tried in mainland courts.
“This law will be the sword of Damocles hanging over a tiny group of criminals who want to interfere in Hong Kong affairs,” he said.
Lam said at a press conference on Wednesday that the purpose of the legislation “was not just to punish but also to deter”, and that some human rights were “not absolute”.
China passed the security law on Tuesday. It has been decried by many western governments as an unprecedented assault on the finance hub’s liberties and autonomy.
Published shortly after it went into effect at 11pm, the law lays out penalties including life imprisonment for the crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
The law appears to apply to anyone, whether they are a Hong Kong resident or not, or even in Hong Kong at all.
“If you’ve ever said anything that might offend the PRC [People’s Republic of China] or Hong Kong authorities, stay out of Hong Kong,” said Donald Clarke, a law professor at George Washington University.
The Hong Kong Bar Association released a statement on Wednesday criticising the law, which was enacted through a legal manoeuvre that bypassed Hong Kong’s legislature.
“Nobody in [Hong Kong] had seen so much as a draft or accurate summary of the NSL before its entry into force,” the association said, arguing that the legislation would “erode the high degree of autonomy” of Hong Kong as well as undermine institutions such as the “one country, two systems” framework, independent judicial power, and fundamental rights and liberties.
Human rights advocates also criticised the broad and vague wording of the law, allowing it to target a broad range of behaviours not necessarily linked to security. Hongkongers expressed concern online at Beijing’s confirmation that someone travelling overseas to successfully lobby for sanctions could be charged with foreign collusion offences, and that provoking hatred of police – by spreading “rumours” of violence for instance – could be a national security offence.
Beijing risks further international confrontation as other countries condemn the measure. The UK, Canada and Taiwan have issued travel warnings, telling its residents that they may face “increased risk of arbitrary detention” in Hong Kong.
Boris Johnson said the law was a “clear and serious breach” of the SinoBritish joint declaration, the agreement deciding the terms of the 1997 handover. He said the UK would proceed with changes to its immigration laws to give people with British national (overseas) status a route to citizenship.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the US would “not stand idly by while China swallows Hong Kong into its authoritarian maw”.
Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, expressed “deep concern”, and Japan’s defence minister, Taro Kono, said China’s “unilateral attempt to change the status quo” might jeopardise a planned state visit by Xi Jinping.
Shen Chunyao, the director of the National People’s Congress legislative affairs commission, rejected the international condemnation and threats of sanctions as “unwarranted accusations” and the “logic of bandits”. He said the law was “a perfect combination of adhering to the one country prerequisite and respecting the differences of two systems”.