Before Sunday, only a handful of people had been formally charged with breaking the law China imposed last year, which is punishable by life in prison.
Dozens of pro-democracy figures who were rounded up and detained last month were arrested again on Sunday and charged with violating Hong Kong’s harsh new national security law, the latest blow to the dwindling hopes for democracy in the territory. The 47 politicians and activists charged on Sunday are accused of breaking the security law by helping to organize an informal election primary last year for Hong Kong’s pro-democratic political camp. They were among 55 people arrested in a January sweep and released on bail while the police continued their investigation. Before Sunday, only a handful of people had been formally charged with violating the security law, though about 100 have been arrested on suspicion of doing so. Those convicted of violating the law can be sentenced to life in prison. The police said that each of the 47 people had been charged with a single count of “conspiracy to commit subversion.” They include Benny Tai, a former University of Hong Kong law professor who drafted an election strategy for the pro-democracy camp that included the informal primary. The primary, held in July, looked little different from others held in democracies around the world.
