Despite the ban on gatherings, hundreds of people took to the streets to express their opposition to the canceled parliamentary elections. Dissatisfaction was also added to the newly adopted security law, and the police did not hesitate to intervene with the help of pepper projectiles. About 290 people ended up in handcuffs on the grounds of illegal gathering.
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Beijing Liaison Office in Hong Kong marked organizers of protests for “callous”. His spokesman added that “acts of violation of national security law do not exist that could be tolerated.” The office also promised that “it will certainly not allow chaos to re-emerge in Hong Kong.”
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China has labeled some of today’s protesters’ shouts as illegal slogans. For example, “Give me back my voice”, “Corrupt cops” and most importantly “Free Hong Kong” were annoying.
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“Today was supposed to be our election day, we have to resist, fight for our vote,” said the 70-year-old protester, recalling the election that administrator Carrie Lam postponed for a year in July from its original deadline in September. She used the continued spread of coronavirus to explain. Because of him, the government began to restrict rallies, reducing the number of anti-government demonstrations.
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Coronavirus has been confirmed in about 4,800 people in Hong Kong since January. The daily numbers of new cases have fallen from three-digit to single-digit since June. Local police have rejected requests to allow protests in recent months. Under current anti-coronavirus measures, a maximum of two people may gather there.
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The decision to postpone the election was a blow to the pro-democracy opposition, which, after winning the November local elections, had hopes for historic success in the vote. Only half of the 70 parliamentary seats in the Hong Kong Parliament are directly elected. The remaining places are decided by local interest groups, who are mostly in favor of closer cooperation with mainland China. It took control of the former British colony in 1997.
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“Hong Kong’s first priority today is to unite as a whole and fight the virus along with concentrated resources,” a government spokesman said. In an evening statement, the Hong Kong government condemned Sunday’s demonstrations as “illegal and selfish” demonstrators.
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The parliamentary elections would be the first after the Chinese parliament’s standing committee approved a controversial security law in late June, which defines four crimes, namely separatist, subversive and terrorist activities and cooperation with foreign forces to threaten national security. Hong Kong citizens arrested under this legislation may be tried in mainland China. The Hong Kong government insists that parliamentary elections have not been postponed for political reasons.
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According to critics, the new security law is a violation of the “one country, two systems” principle, to which China has committed itself for 50 years when it took control of Hong Kong from Britain. The principle guarantees local people a number of freedoms, including an independent judiciary. Proponents of the law, on the other hand, say it will bring stability after last year’s anti-Beijing and pro-democracy protests.
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Among the about 290 arrests are prominent Figan activists from the Civil Human Rights Front and former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung.
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