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"Hell of the Orient" – A wave of detentions under “draconian law”

Police officers on Hong Kong street. photo:Anadolu

 

The World Daily | News Desk           JANUARY  6th   2021

 

Hong Kong police detained over 50 democracy activists, including former MPs. The charges against them concern violations of state security regulations. “This is by far the largest number of people detained under this draconian law in a single case,” said former MEP Cyd Ho.

 

The detainees are charged with subversive activity in connection with the organization in July 2020 of unofficial democratic primaries before the elections to the Hong Kong parliament, which were eventually postponed to 2021.

The detainees include the initiator of the primaries, former law professor Benny Tai, and former MPs James To, Wu Chi-wai, Andrew Wan, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helenaw Wong, Au Nok-hin, Chu Hoi-dick, Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka -ki, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan - the public Hong Kong station RTHK reported.

Police officers also raided the law firm of former Member of Parliament Albert Ho, searched his office and arrested John Clancey, an American working there - one of the law firm's partners, Jonathan Man, told RTHK. According to Reuters, Clancey is the president of the NGO Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and is active in a group linked to Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.

 

“The list of those arrested will be updated”

 

On Wednesday, the police also appeared in the editorial office of the pro-democratic Internet portal Stand News. According to one of the portal's journalists, the editor-in-chief was asked to sign documents related to the investigation into state security, Reuters reported.

Democrat Lee Cheuk-yan informed journalists that more than 50 people were detained on Wednesday. “This is by far the largest number of people detained under this draconian law in one case. The full list of those arrested will be updated yet,” said former MP Cyd Ho.

Political commentator Chung Kim-wah said in an interview with the RTHK that the primaries did not violate any laws in force in Hong Kong. “If the government wants to deter people from doing these kinds of things, nobody is safe,” he said.

Selecting the strongest candidates

 

Before the communist People's Republic of China took control of Hong Kong in 1997, it undertook to maintain the city's autonomy and the liberties of its inhabitants for at least 50 years. According to the Democrats, the authorities are breaking this commitment, increasingly restricting Hong Kong's autonomy and taking their freedom, especially through the state security laws that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in June 2020.

The unofficial primary election of the democratic camp was aimed at selecting the strongest candidates to take over most of the seats in the Hong Kong parliament in the elections planned for September. The elections ultimately did not take place as the Hong Kong administration postponed it for a year, explaining this with the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 600,000 Hong Kong citizens took part in the primary elections, and Chinese authorities described them as “illegal manipulation.”

 

“Hell of the Orient”

 

“We are shocked by the latest wave of detentions of democratic activists in Hong Kong,” the Taiwanese government's Continental China Council said on Wednesday. She estimated that the former British colony from the “pearl of the Orient” has turned into “hell of the Orient.” She added that if Hong Kong's democracy and freedom are further restricted, it will affect its position as an international financial centre, which will not be beneficial for China, the Reuters agency said.

The latest detentions are in line with the intensification of the campaign against the Hong Kong democratic opposition led by the PRC's central government in Beijing and the Hong Kong administration loyal to them.

The communist authorities of the PRC recognize democratically ruled Taiwan as an integral part of China and seek to take control over it, without excluding the possibility of using force. The Taiwanese government declared its support for the democratic movement in Hong Kong and offered help to activists fleeing the city.

 

© The World Daily 2021 | News Desk

 

 

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