HONG KONG, China — Teenager Tony Chung said he was walking outside a shopping mall when police officers from Hong Kong’s new national security unit swooped, bundled him into a nearby stairwell
Chung’s alleged crime was to write comments on social media that endangered national security, one of four students — including a 16-year-old girl — detained for the same offence that day.
Under the handover deal with London, Beijing agreed to let Hong Kong keep certain freedoms and autonomy until 2047, helping its transformation into a world-class financial centre. “The overnight change was so dramatic and so severe, it felt as momentous as a second handover,” Antony Dapiran, a Hong Kong lawyer who has written books about the city’s politics, told AFP.
Inciting hatred of the government, supporting foreign sanctions and disrupting the operation of Hong Kong’s government all count as national security crimes, and Beijing claimed the right to prosecute anyone in the world.The first arrests came on 1 July, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, mainly against people possessing banners or other objects carrying pro-independence slogans.
On Monday Jimmy Lai — a local media mogul and one of the city’s most vocal Beijing critics — was arrested under the new law along with six other people, accused of colluding with foreign forces.In July, authorities announced 12 prospective candidates, including four sitting legislators, were banned from standing in upcoming local elections.
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