Hong Kong police stamp out national anthem law protests
UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY At least 240 people were arrested, including teenagers
HONGKONG:Hong Kong police cast a dragnet around the financial hub’s legislature on Wednesday and fired pepper-ball rounds in the commercial district as they stamped down on protests against a bill banning insults to China’s national anthem.
The latest unrest comes days after China announced separate plans to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong .
Wednesday’s protests were sparked by a debate over a new law that will criminalise insults to the national anthem with up to three years in jail, the latest measure activists say is eroding freedoms in the city.
Police surrounded the city’s legislature with water-filled barriers and conducted widespread stop-and-search operations in a bid to deter mass gatherings.
Small flashmob rallies in the districts of Causeway Bay, Mongkok and Central, the latter broken up by officers firing crowdcontrol rounds filled with a pepper-based irritant.
Police said 240 people were arrested on suspicion of holding an unlawful assembly. Live images showed many of those being led away were teenagers.
“It’s like a de facto curfew now,” Nathan Law, a prominent pro-democracy advocate told AFP. “I think the government has to understand why people are really angry.”
“You can see there are police every corner, it’s like martial law in force,” added a woman, who gave her nickname Bean, after she was searched.
In a statement police said they “respect the right of residents to express their views peacefully, but it must be carried out legally”, adding crowds were blocking roads.Public gatherings of more than eight people are currently banned under emergency anticoronavirus measures..
Requests by civil society groups to hold protests have been denied for months by authorities citing both the pandemic and last year’s unrest.