Hong Kong marks handover anniversary with new national security law arrests
Hong Kong police made the first arrests under Beijing’s new national security law on Wednesday as the city greeted the anniversary of its handover to China with protesters fleeing water cannon.
The commemorations came a day after China imposed a sweeping security law on the city, a historic move decried by many Western governments as an unprecedented assault on the finance hub’s liberties and autonomy.
Certain political views and symbols became illegal overnight, including showing support for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet independence.
By Wednesday afternoon police said two people had been arrested under the new law, a man and a woman both carrying Hong Kong independence signs.
“Advocacy for independence of Hong Kong is against the law,” security minister John Lee told reporters.
A few thousand protesters defied a ban on rallies to gather in the shopping district of Causeway Bay on Wednesday, blocking some roads.
Riot police responded with water cannon and pepper spray, making at least 70 arrests.
Harsh criticism over the law poured in from critics and Western governments, led by the US, over fears the law would usher in a new era of mainland-style political repression.
Under a deal ahead of the 1997 handover from Britain, authoritarian China guaranteed Hong Kong civil liberties as well as judicial and legislative autonomy until 2047 in a deal known as “One Country, Two Systems”.
“(China) promised 50 years of freedom to the Hong Kong people, and gave them only 23,” US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said as he promised unspecified countermeasures.
Beijing said foreign countries should keep quiet about the law, while Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam hailed the legislation as the “most important development” since the city’s return to Beijing’s rule.
Riot police respond with water cannon and pepper spray, arrest 17
After huge and often violent pro-democracy protests last year, authorities have shown zero tolerance for even peaceful rallies in recent months.
Gatherings of more than 50 people are currently banned under anti-coronavirus laws even though local transmissions have ended. —