A sign China is stepping up its national security law to crush Hong Kong’s civil society.
More than 50 pro-democracy and civil society leaders in Hong Kong have been arrested under China’s national security law, an unprecedented crackdown as Beijing tries to throttle Hong Kong’s remaining freedoms. Raids took place across Hong Kong in the early morning hours Wednesday, an operation that involved more than 1,000 police officers. A total of 53 opposition figures and activists were detained for their involvement with unofficial primary elections that were held in July for pro-democracy candidates, intended to select the slate of contenders for the since-postponed legislative elections. Those primaries took place shortly after China passed an aggressive new national security law, a sweeping piece of legislation that gave Beijing broad powers to stamp out dissent in Hong Kong. Now, due to their association with that election, these pro-democracy leaders are being accused of subverting the Chinese state. The mass arrests were the clearest sign yet that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under President Xi Jinping is determined to stamp out political opposition in Hong Kong, following nearly a year of pro-democracy protests there. In 1997, Britain, which had controlled Hong Kong, handed the territory back to China. Under the terms of that agreement, Hong Kong is supposed to be governed according to a “one country, two systems” rule. The “one country” part means it is officially part of China, while the “two systems” part gives it a degree of autonomy, including rights like freedom of the press that are absent in mainland China.
