HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong police on Sunday detained 47 pro-democracy activists on charges of conspiring to subvert under the city’s national security law, in the largest mass indictment against semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s opposition camp since. the law came into effect. effect last June.
The former lawmakers and democracy advocates had previously been arrested in a sweeping police operation in January, but were released. They have been detained again and will appear in court on Monday, police said in a statement.
They allegedly violated the national security law imposed by Beijing for participating in unofficial election primaries for the Hong Kong legislature last year.
The defendants include 39 men and eight women between the ages of 23 and 64, police said.
The move is part of an ongoing crackdown on the city’s democracy movement, with a series of arrests and prosecutions of Hong Kong democracy advocates – including outspoken activists Joshua Wong and Jimmy Lai – after months of anti-government protests in 2019.
The pro-democracy camp had held the primaries to determine the best candidates to gain a majority in the legislature and had plans to vote out important bills that would eventually force Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to resign.
In January, 55 activists and former lawmakers were arrested for their roles in the primaries.
Authorities said the activists’ participation was part of a plan to paralyze the city’s legislature and undermine state power.
The parliamentary elections that would have followed the unofficial primaries were postponed by a year by Lam, who mentioned the risks to public health during the coronavirus pandemic. Mass resignations and disqualifications of pro-democracy lawmakers have left the legislature largely a pro-Beijing body.
One of those arrested on Sunday was former lawmaker Eddie Chu. A post on his official Twitter account confirmed that he was charged with conspiracy to commit subversion and was denied bail.
“Thanks to the people of Hong Kong for giving me the opportunity to contribute to society for the past 15 years,” Chu said in a post on his Facebook page.
Another candidate in the primaries, Winnie Yu, was also charged and will appear in court on Monday, according to a post on her official Facebook page.
US attorney John Clancey, a member of the now-defunct political rights group “Power for Democracy” who was arrested in January for his involvement in the primaries, was not among those detained on Sunday.
“I will give full support to those who have been charged and will be tried because they have done nothing wrong from my perspective,” Clancey told reporters.
The security law criminalizes subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers to intervene in Hong Kong’s affairs. Serious offenders can receive a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Almost 100 people have been arrested since the law was introduced.