Hong Kong Police Again Strikes Pro-Democracy Activists, This Time 53 People

Illustration of pro democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. (Elton Yung / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Hong Kong police have again arrested pro-democracy activists. This time 53 people were arrested for allegedly violating the New Security Law.

Hong Kong Security Secretary John Lee said the activists had been arrested for planning to "overthrow" the government, launching Reuters on Wednesday. "The group plans to cause serious damage. The authorities will not tolerate any subversive action," Lee said.

The activists arrested by the Hong Kong Police included James To, Lam Cheuk-ting, Benny Tai to Lester Shum. These arrests are said to be the largest since the new Security Act was enacted in June 2020.

The Hong Kong Police have not provided an official statement about the number and reasons why the activists were arrested. However, a number of opposition figures suspect this arrest is related to the unofficial preliminary elections held by pro-democracy parties in July 2020.

The election, which was attended by around 600 thousand voters, aims to elect candidates who will participate in the Hong Kong Legislative Election. Of the 70 seats in the Hong Kong Parliament, the opposition is targeting to win 35 seats.

Originally, the Hong Kong Legislative Election would be held last September. But the authorities postponed it under the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The suppression of political freedom and free speech by national security laws has taken another level," said Nathan Law, a pro democracy activist who fled to Britain.