Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands protesting on Sunday against Beijing’s plan to directly impose national security laws on the city, signalling a return to mass protests that roiled the financial hub last year.
Riot police fire tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters during a march against Beijing's plans to impose national security legislation in Hong Kong, China May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Calls for independence are anathema to China’s Communist Party leaders, who say such a notion for the Chinese-ruled city is a “red line” that cannot be crossed. “I am worried that after the implementation of the national security law, they will go after those being charged before and the police will be further out of control,” said Twinnie, 16, a secondary school student who declined to give her last name.
Sunday’s rally, the largest since COVID-19 lockdowns began, was initially organised against a national anthem bill but the proposed national security laws sparked calls for more people to take to the streets. They said protesters hurled umbrellas, water bottles and other objects at them and they responded with tear gas “to stop the violent acts of rioters.”
“It’s a moveable red line. In future they can arrest, lock up and silence anyone they want in the name of national security. We have to resist it,” protester Avery Ng of the League for Social Democrats told Reuters.
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