Hong Kong police deny permission for 23rd anniversary annual march on July 1, marking city's handover to China from Britain in 1997
In this file photo riot police officers stand guard ahead of an anti-Beijing march in the Central district of Hong Kong on June 9, 2020.
The Hong Kong police department on Saturday has denied permission for an annual march in the former British colony on July 1 to mark the anniversary of the city's 1997 return to China, the organiser and the police said in separate statements.In a notice to the organiser, Civil Human Rights Front , the police cited the city's current rules limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying public assemblies and demonstrations are not exempted.
"Upon risk assessment, police considered that the public meetings and procession are high-risk activities," the local police department said in a separate post on the department's Facebook page.The move comes ahead of a three-day meeting from Sunday of China's parliament, which is expected to enact new national security legislation on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule.
That bill was shelved, but Beijing has decided to impose a new security law in the city, claiming Hong Kong protesters were involved in separatism.China took back control of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, under a "one country, two systems" formula that allows freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including freedom of protest and a much-cherished independent judiciary.
In recent years, the anniversary of the handover has been marked by deepening despondency about what many residents saw as increasing meddling by the mainland and theThe semi-autonomous city has been convulsed by a year of huge and often violent rallies that began with an eventually aborted criminal extradition bill but morphed into a popular call for democracy and police accountability.
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