HK detains 47 activists on subversion charges
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 former lawmakers and democracy advocates had been previously arrested in a sweeping police operation in January but were released. They have been detained again and will appear in court on Monday, police said in a statement.
They allegedly violated the new national security law that was imposed by Beijing for participating in unofficial election primaries for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's legislature
last year.
The defendants include 39 men and eight women aged between 23 and 64, police said.
The pro-democracy camp had held the primaries to de
termine the best candidates to field to win a majority in the legislature and had plans to vote down major bills that would eventually force Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to resign.