Chinese regime crackdown progresses: Hong Kong arrested 47 pro-democracy activists accused of subversion

Hong Kong police arrested on Sunday 47 pro-democracy activists, charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under national security laws.

Former lawmakers and activists were arrested in January and released. Now will remain in custody and appear in court on Mondayaccording to a police statement.

Is that the case Accused of violating Beijing-imposed new national security law for participating in an unofficial electoral primary for the semi-autonomous territory legislature last year. The defendants are 39 men and eight women, aged 23 to 64, according to police. These charges can carry penalties of up to life imprisonment.

The pro-democracy camp held primaries to choose the best candidates for a majority in the local chamber and intended to reject major bills that ultimately forced Hong Kong head of government Carrie Lam to resign .

In January, 55 activists and former parliamentarians were arrested during a police operation for their participation in the primaries. The arrests have been hailed as the biggest move to date against Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, after Beijing imposed a national security law in late June to quell dissent after months of anti-government protests in 2019 . The goal was increase the chances that the pro-democracy movement will win a majority in the legislative elections to be held in September 2020 but which were postponed for a year due to the covid pandemic.

The Authorities say activists’ participation in consultation was part of plan to cripple city legislature and undermine state power. This unofficial vote, described as a “diabolical plot” by local leaders, brought together more than 610,000 Hong Kongers.

Among those arrested on Sunday was the former lawmaker Eddie Chu. A post on his official Twitter account confirmed that he was facing charges of conspiracy to commit subversion and was denied bail.

Another of them, the district councilor Lester shum, said in statements to the press before appearing at the police station that it was a “total repression”Against the opposition and He said he will “not surrender to the regime” while calling on Hong Kong people “to persist in their fight for democracy”.

Another candidate for the primary, Winnie Yo, She was also prosecuted and was due to appear in court on Monday, according to a post on her official Facebook page.

Demonstrations are banned and the authorities, under the pretext of a pandemic, have postponed for a year the legislative elections in which the opposition began as the favorite to win.

Police action occurs less than a week before China holds so-called “two sessions” in Beijing, the annual summits of the legislature and the supreme advisory body on political matters.

Also, in recent days, authorities have started talking about the “urgent need” to “optimize” Hong Kong’s electoral system so that the semi-autonomous city is ruled by “patriots”.

(With information from AFP, EFE and AP)

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