Hong Kong police arrest dozens of pro-democracy activists for “subversion”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) –
Acting under a national security law imposed by China last year, Hong Kong police arrested 53 pro-democracy activists Wednesday, citing “subversion” for participation in unofficial election primaries, the Associated Press reports. Former Hong Kong lawmakers were among those arrested.

Wednesday’s large-scale arrests operation constitutes the most substantial action taken by Beijing against Hong Kong’s democracy movement since China’s imposition of the national security law in June, AP reports. The law was instituted to crush the widespread pro-democracy protests that gripped Hong Kong in 2019-2020.

Posting about his experience of the arrests operation, former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said police had come to his house and told him he was “suspected of violating the national security law, subverting state power.”

According to reports in the South China Morning Post, online platform Now News and political groups, all of the pro-democracy candidates in the unofficial primaries were arrested, AP said. At least seven members of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, including former party chairman Wu Chi-wai, were among those arrested.

In a press statement about the arrests, Hong Kong security minister John Lee said: “The operation today targets the active elements who are suspected to be involved in the crime of overthrowing, or interfering (and) seriously destroy the Hong Kong government’s legal execution of duties.”

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