On July 31 the governor Carrie Lam had postponed the vote by one year, until 5 September 2021, officially due to the Covid pandemic. A decision much criticized by the opposition, already proven by the new national security law wanted by Beijing.
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Hong Kong, Beijing law: a Chinese government agency to manage national security
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According to the newspaper South China Morning Post, police in riot gear used stinging spray and cartridges to disperse crowds in Kowloon’s Mong Kok neighborhood. At 5 pm local time (11 am in Italy), the arrests reported by the police were already 90, accused of illegal assembly.
The postponement of the vote
The postponement of the vote for the renewal of the local parliament, announced by Lam, was harshly contested by the pro-democracy opposition which aimed to reap a full success, replicating the outcome of the 2019 district elections on the thrust of the rooted anti-government sentiment. Hundreds of officers filled the Kowloon district ahead of today’s demonstrations. Already in the afternoon, the agents reacted to slogans such as “Give me back my vote!” and “corrupt cops”. In the images broadcast live, even on the account Facebook of the police, three well-known pro-democracy activists were arrested: Leung Kwok-hung, Figo Chan and Raphael Wong from the Social Democratic League were arrested after unrolling a banner in front of the Eaton Hotel in which they denounced the postponement of the vote.
Tak-chi there
Taken from home activist Tam Tak-chi
A few hours before the demonstration, a well-known opposition activist was also arrested Tak-chi there, taken from his home in the north-eastern area of the former British colony on charges of “having made seditious speeches”, against the disputed security law wanted by China. The police specified that the arrest was not carried out under the new security law but under Article 10 of the Penal Code of British colonial legislation which punishes anti-government statements. Vice-president of the radical democratic party People Power, Tam Tak-chi is a former radio host nicknamed Fast beat.
Tam Tak-chi this summer would deliver speeches of “hate and disapproval” towards the government and that “sowed discontent and disaffection in the population”. The national security unit intervened because it also considered him responsible for “inciting secession”, a crime envisaged by article 21 of the law on national security.
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