Wednesday’s arrests give the lie to official claims that the national security law would affect only a tiny minority
China is crushing any shred of resistance in Hong Kong, in breach of its promises to maintain the region’s freedoms. The arrest of more than 50 pro-democracy figures in the early hours of Wednesday morning, under the draconian national security law introduced last year, makes it clear that not only peaceful protest but political opposition itself is no longer acceptable.
To invoke the vaguely defined charge of subversion against people engaging in Hong Kong’s severely restricted and hobbled democratic processes would be almost comic were it not so sinister. The suspects held or participated in primaries to pick pro-democracy candidates with the best chance of winning elections to the city’s legislative council (LegCo). The intention, said police, was to handicap the government by winning a legislative majority and using it to veto budgets, pushing the chief executive to resign and forcing the government into a shutdown. In short, planning to win office and exercise the legislative right to veto now amounts to a crime against national security. Those convicted could face life in prison.
Continue reading…Wednesday’s arrests give the lie to official claims that the national security law would affect only a tiny minorityChina is crushing any shred of resistance in Hong Kong, in breach of its promises to maintain the region’s freedoms. The arrest of more than 50 pro-democracy figures in the early hours of Wednesday morning, under the draconian national security law introduced last year, makes it clear that not only peaceful protest but political opposition itself is no longer acceptable.To invoke the vaguely defined charge of subversion against people engaging in Hong Kong’s severely restricted and hobbled democratic processes would be almost comic were it not so sinister. The suspects held or participated in primaries to pick pro-democracy candidates with the best chance of winning elections to the city’s legislative council (LegCo). The intention, said police, was to handicap the government by winning a legislative majority and using it to veto budgets, pushing the chief executive to resign and forcing the government into a shutdown. In short, planning to win office and exercise the legislative right to veto now amounts to a crime against national security. Those convicted could face life in prison. Continue reading…