Hong Kong – Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested 53 former parliamentarians and supporters of democracy, including a US human rights lawyer, for allegedly violating a the new national security law by participating in unofficial electoral primaries for the territory’s legislature last year. The mass arrests have been the biggest action against the Hong Kong democracy movement since the law was imposed by Beijing in June last year to quell dissent in the semi-autonomous territory.
“Today’s operation targets the active elements suspected of being involved in the crime of overturning or interfering (and) seriously destroying the law enforcement of the Hong Kong government,” Hong Kong Security Minister John Lee said in a Press conference. .
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He said the detainees were suspected of trying to paralyze the government by gaining a majority in the legislature, creating a situation in which the chief executive had to resign and the government ceased to function.
In a video posted on the Facebook page of former parliamentarian Lam Cheuk-ting, the police are seen appearing at his home and telling him that he is “suspected of violating the national security law, undermining state power.” Police told video recorders to stop or risk arrest.
Legislative elections following unofficial mayors were postponed for a year by Hong Kong Executive Director Carrie Lam, who cited public health risks during the coronavirus pandemic. The mass resignations and disqualifications of pro-democracy parliamentarians have largely left the legislature a pro-Beijing body.
Lee said police will not target those who voted in informal primaries, which took place in July last year and drew more than 600,000 voters, even as pro-Beijing lawmakers and politicians warned that the event could violate the law. security.
Who was arrested?
All pro-democracy candidates in unofficial mayors have been arrested, according to the number of arrests reported by the South China Morning Post, the online platform Now News and political groups.
At least seven members of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party – the largest opposition party in the city – have been arrested, including former party chairman Wu Chi-wai. Former MPs Lam, Helena Wong and James To were also arrested, according to a post on the party’s Facebook page.
Benny Tai, a key figure in the 2014 Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong and a former law professor, was also arrested, reports say. Tai was one of the main organizers of the mayors.
The home of Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist who is serving a sentence of 13 ½ months imprisonment for organizing and participating in an unauthorized protest last year, he was also attacked, according to a tweet posted from Wong’s account.
The US human rights lawyer has been detained
U.S. human rights lawyer John Clancey was also arrested Wednesday. Clancey was the treasurer of the power group Democracy for Democracy, which was involved in informal primaries.
“We need to work for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong,” Clancey said as he was led by police in a video posted by local online news outlet Citizen News.
Police also visited the headquarters of Stand News, a prominent pro-democracy online news site in Hong Kong, with a court order to hand over documents to assist in an investigation into the national security law, according to a live video from Stand News. No arrests were made.
The radical arrests condemned Anthony Blinken, nominated for US Secretary of State for the future Biden administration, who declared on Twitter that it was an “attack on those who bravely advocate for universal rights”.
“The Biden-Harris administration will be with the people of Hong Kong and against Beijing’s repression of democracy,” Blinken wrote in his tweet.
Alleged plan for “mutual destruction”
Lee also highlighted a “10 steps to mutual destruction” plan among those arrested, which included taking control of the legislature, mobilizing protests to paralyze society and calling for international sanctions.
This plan was previously outlined by former law professor Tai. He predicted that between 2020 and 2022, there will be 10 steps towards mutual destruction, which includes the pro-democracy bloc that wins a majority in the legislature, the intensification of protests, the forced resignation of chief executive Carrie Lam due to the budget bill being rejected by two or, international sanctions on the Chinese Communist Party.
The concept of mutual destruction – in which both Hong Kong and China would suffer damage – is popular among some pro-democracy protesters and activists.
“The intrigue is to create such mutual destruction, which if successful … will lead to serious damage to society as a whole,” Lee said. “That’s why today’s police action is needed.”
Senior National Security Inspector Steve Li told a news conference that 53 people – 45 men and eight women between the ages of 23 and 64 – had been arrested in an operation involving 1,000 people. of officers.
Six were arrested for undermining state power by organizing unofficial mayors, while the rest were arrested for allegedly attending the event, Li said. He said more arrests could be made and investigations were under way.
A mounting repression
In recent months, Hong Kong has already detained several pro-democracy activists, including Wong and Agnes Chow, for their involvement in anti-government protests, and others have been charged under national security law, including the media mogul and pro-government activist. -open democracy Jimmy Lai.
The security law criminalizes acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers to interfere in the affairs of the city. Serious offenders could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at the time of last year’s unofficial mayors that if their purpose was to resist any political initiative by the Hong Kong government, the election could fall under state power, which is a crime under security law. national.
Beijing has also called illegal mayors a “serious challenge” to Hong Kong’s electoral system.
After the surrender of Hong Kong to China by the British in 1997, the semi-autonomous Chinese city operated on a “one country, two systems” framework that gives it freedoms not found on the mainland. In recent years, Beijing has asserted more control over the city, criticizing its breach of its promise to keep Hong Kong’s civil rights and political systems separate for 50 years after surrender.
Human Rights Watch said the arrests suggested that Beijing had failed to learn that the crackdown was resisting. China’s senior HRW researcher Maya Wang said in a statement that “millions of Hong Kong people will persist in their fight for their right to vote and run for office in a democratically elected government.”
In other remarks to The Associated Press, Wang said it was unclear what provisions of the law were cited to justify the arrests, but that local authorities seemed less concerned about the legal merits.
“The very nature of the national security law is like a general draconian law that allows the government to arrest and imprison long-term people for exercising their constitutionally protected rights,” Wang said.
“The rule of law also applies in mainland China, which is meaningless. Hong Kong is more like mainland China, but where one ends and the other begins is hard to discern,” she said.