Police disperse protesters in Hong Kong with tear gas
HONG KONG — Police fired multiple rounds of tear gas, used a water cannon to disperse protesters and arrested more than 100 people opposed to Beijing’s plan to impose a sweeping national security law, in a return to the demonstrations that defined this city last year.
Despite social distancing measures still in place over the coronavirus outbreak that prohibit gatherings of more than eight and laws on illegal assembly, tens of thousands of people thronged by early afternoon through Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay shopping district. Calls to assembly were made online, without a formal organizer or permit.
Refrains of last year’s protests — “fight for freedom,” “stand with Hong Kong” — echoed on the streets among people of all ages, along with some newer ones: “Hong Kong independence, the only way out.” Some carried posters declaring that “Heaven will destroy the Chinese Communist Party.”
“If we don’t come out today to fight back, this may be the last time,” said Chris, a 19-year old protester who gave only his first name as he had already been arrested once before for participating in an illegal protest. “Maybe tomorrow, Hong Kong will be China and we can’t even say a single word of criticism on the internet without being arrested.”
Some activists gathered near the starting point of the planned march under the auspices of a “health talk,” claiming they were exempt from restrictions on public gathering, but were arrested nonetheless for unauthorized assembly.
Soon, the protest descended into familiar scenes: bottles thrown at police, rounds of tear gas fired in response, games of cat and mouse between protesters and officers, and eventually arrests. By Sunday night, police said they had arrested at least 180, mostly on charges of unlawful assembly.
The new national security law will criminalize “foreign interference,” secessionist activities and subversion of state power. Beijing plans to impose it by decree, bypassing the legislative processes set up in Hong Kong by the 1997 handover from Britain.
The move undermines Hong Kong’s constitution, the Basic Law, and essentially discards the “one country, two systems” approach meant to preserve the city’s autonomy until at least 2047.
Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo has called the law the “death knell” for Hong Kong’s autonomy. National security adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday that a Chinese effort to assert dominance over Hong Kong would draw U.S. financial sanctions against both.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday that the national security legislation for Hong Kong was “urgent and imperative” because of the protests that erupted last year.
“These protests had posed a grave threat to Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, and to the practice of ‘one country, two systems,’” Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual National People’s Congress.
He added that establishing a new legal system and enforcement mechanisms were “a pressing priority” and China “must get it done without the slightest delay.”
But he characterized the new law as narrowly defined.
“This has no impact on Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, or the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors in Hong Kong,” he said.