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Former Democratic Party lawmakers Andrew Wan, left, Lam Cheuk-ting, second left, and Helena Wong, right, at a press conference after she was released on bail.
AP Photo / Kin Cheung, file
The US joined Australia, the UK and Canada on Sunday to condemn the recent arrest of dozens of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
Fifty-five people – including US human rights lawyer John Clancey – were detained last week for participating in unofficial parliamentary election primaries, in violation of a Chinese law aimed at tackling dissent in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
“It is clear that the National Security Act is being used to eliminate dissent and opposing political views,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterparts at the three other countries said in a joint letter issued Sunday.
“We call on the central authorities of Hong Kong and China to respect the legally guaranteed rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong without fear of arrest and detention.”
Those arrested under the law have not been formally charged and almost all have been released without bail.
The Hong Kong government fired back with a statement of its own defending the application of the law.
“We are shocked by the comments of some overseas government officials who seemed to suggest that people with certain political beliefs should be immune from legal sanctions,” the statement read.
In 2019, Hong Kong was rocked by months of often violent protests demanding a more democratic government.
The Chinese Communist Party has come under fire for increasingly oppressive practices, even while passing judgment on countries like the US.
With pole wires