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Hong Kong re-arrests dozens of pro-democracy activists under controversial law

Hong Kong activists
The 47 arrested activists have struck a defiant tone (Picture: Getty/Reuters)

Police in Hong Kong have re-arrested 47 pro-democracy activists under a controversial new law.

The defendants allegedly violated the national security legislation imposed by China when they participated in unofficial election primaries for the region’s legislature last year.

The former legislators and democracy advocates had been arrested in January but were later released. Now police say the defendants, including 39 men and eight women aged between 23 and 64, have been detained again and will appear in court on Monday.

It is the largest use of the sweeping national security law and is being seen as an attempt to cripple the semi-autonomous region’s democracy movement.

Last month 55 of the city’s best-known democracy campaigners were arrested in a series of dawn raids.

On Sunday, police confirmed all but eight of them had now been charged with one count each of ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’ – one of the new national security crimes.

Beijing is battling to stamp out dissent in Hong Kong after swathes of the population came out onto the streets in 2019 in mass protests that often turned violent.

TOPSHOT - Police arrest a protester in the Wanchai area of Hong Kong on October 1, 2019, as the city observes the National Day holiday to mark the 70th anniversary of communist China's founding. - Strife-torn Hong Kong on October 1 marked the 70th anniversary of communist China's founding with defiant
Police arrest a protester in the Wanchai area of Hong Kong in October 2019 (Picture: AFP)
TOPSHOT - Pro-democracy protesters react as police fire water cannons outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 15, 2019. - Hong Kong riot police fired tear gas and water cannons on September 15 at hardcore pro-democracy protesters hurling rocks and petrol bombs, in a return to the political chaos plaguing the city. (Photo by Isaac LAWRENCE / AFP) (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Pro-democracy protesters react as police fire water cannons in 2019 (Picture: AFP)
Pro-democracy activists Helena Wong Pik-wan (2nd-L) and Jimmy Sham (2nd-R) speak to the media as they arrive to report to the police station over national security law charges, in Hong Kong, China February 28, 2021. REUTERS/Joyce Zhou
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham (second right) said democracy ‘must be earned'(Picture: Reuters)

The security law, imposed on the city last June, criminalises acts deemed to be subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Those charged are routinely denied bail until they face trial and can be given life in prison if convicted.

The charged activists come from across Hong Kong’s opposition, from veteran former pro-democracy lawmakers to academics, lawyers, social workers and a host of youth activists.

Some were defiant as they prepared to report to police.

TOPSHOT - Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong (L) and other winners of the unofficial democratic primaries pose at the end of a press conference in Hong Kong on July 15, 2020, after pro-democracy parties held primary polls on July 11 and 12 to choose candidates for upcoming legislative elections. - Young Hong Kong pro-democracy politicians vowed not to resist the threat of Beijing's new security law on July 15 and said they would press ahead with plans to win a majority in the city's legislature. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP) (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Pro-democracy activists and other winners of the unofficial democratic primaries pose after the July election (Picture: AFP)
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Mike Lam arrives at Ma On Shan police station in Hong Kong on February 28, 2021, where he and 46 other dissidents were each charged with one count of
Activist Mike Lam arrives at Ma On Shan police station on Sunday (Picture: AFP)

‘Democracy is never a gift from heaven. It must be earned by many with strong will,’ Jimmy Sham, a key organiser of 2019’s huge protests, told reporters.

‘We can tell the whole world, under the most painful system, Hong Kongers are the light of the city. We will remain strong and fight for what we want.’

Gwyneth Ho, a young journalist turned activist, posted on her Facebook page before being charged: ‘I hope everyone can find their road to peace of mind and then press forward with indomitable will.’

Many of the candidates for the planned election were disqualified from standing, and authorities scrapped the election because of the coronavirus.

But Chinese and Hong Kong officials described the primary as an attempt to ‘overthrow’ and ‘paralyse’ the city’s government and claim it was a threat to national security.

Western nations have accused Beijing of using its crackdown to shred the freedoms that were promised under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ setup when the former British colony was returned to China.

After last month’s arrests the UN’s rights watchdog said the sweep confirmed fears the security law was ‘being used to detain individuals for exercising legitimate rights to participate in political and public life’.

Beijing said the security law would target only an ‘extreme minority’ and was needed to restore stability.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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