HONG KONG (AP) – The sudden arrest of dozens of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, in the most sweeping use of a new national security law to date, is a clear sign of Beijing’s determination to rein in political opposition in the former British hold. colony.
The Wednesday morning raid, widely condemned by Western government officials and human rights groups, is likely to calm an already dwindling protest movement in semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Police detained about 50 people, far more than in previous cases under the six-month-old national security law. Those targeted seemed to include all candidates who had been in an unofficial opposition primaries last year ahead of an expected election to the Hong Kong legislature. City leader Carrie Lam later canceled the elections, citing the coronavirus pandemic. Activists called her action a thinly disguised attempt to thwart the opposition’s expected gains.
HOW CAN A PRIMARY THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY?
Security Secretary John Lee said those arrested were suspected of gaining control of the legislature to paralyze the state-owned company. The subversion part of the National Security Law criminalizes “serious interference in, disruption or undermining of the performance of duties and functions” by the Chinese or Hong Kong governments.
Lam said at the time of the primary that if the goal was to resist any government initiative, it could amount to undermining state power. The central government labeled it primarily illegal and a “serious provocation” to Hong Kong’s electoral system.
WHAT IS THE LIKELY IMPACT?
The arrests will remove more activists from the scene, reducing the likelihood of renewed protests and eliminating many as future candidates for office. They warn a younger generation who formed the backbone of protests in 2014 and 2019 that even holding an unofficial primary could lead to legal action that could seriously affect their futures.
Human Rights Watch said of the movement that repression generates resistance, but the tightened restrictions of the opposition and the ongoing effects of the coronavirus on public life and the economy could slow the emergence of a new generation willing to attack Beijing. or permanently discourage.
WHY NOW?
Beijing has made relentless efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2019 protests, which became increasingly violent in response to the government’s refusal to comply with protesters’ demands. They plunged Hong Kong into its greatest political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
China is also determined to drive out what it perceives to be unjustified foreign government interference in its internal affairs. The country’s newfound military, economic and political power encourages it to take on the West, and it can benefit from distractions from pandemics and political disruption in the US and Europe.
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This story has been corrected to show that the security law is six months old, not seven months.