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Hong Kong Police arrested more than 50 pro-democracy politicians, former lawmakers and activists in morning raids on Wednesday that effectively wiped out the entire political opposition in what one critic called a “reign of terror.”
Deploying some 1,000 officers, the police carried out the assault on the city’s pro-democracy movement using a new national security law written and passed in Beijing last year, legislation that raised the cost of dissent in the former British colony to life imprisonment.
The mass arrests were the biggest since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, when Communist Party leaders promised that the city would enjoy civil liberties unavailable elsewhere in China and, eventually, democratic elections. Even before the Wednesday operation, democracy advocates said the distinction between the city and the mainland was fast eroding under the assertive rule of President Xi Jinping.
The arrested are accused of “subverting state power” by organizing or participating in a poll for pro-democracy activists in July, which was aimed at helping democrats win a majority in Hong Kong’s legislature. A lawyer who is an American citizen involved in the poll was also arrested.
Police said the democrats intended to undermine government operations by taking control of the legislature, and more people could be arrested.
In a move that illustrated the expansive reach of the national security law, police visited the offices of four media outlets, including the pro-democracy Apple Daily and Stand News, to demand information related to the poll. Apple Daily’s owner, 72-year-old Jimmy Lai, is facing life in prison after previously being charged with endangering national security.
Police said they would not take journalistic materials. Officers also searched 72 locations and froze HK$1.6 million ($206,000) in funds.
The legislation that enabled the purge is part of Beijing’s efforts to clamp down on the city’s opposition in the wake of the 2019 demonstrations that saw violent clashes between activists and police.
📷 Anthony Kwan / Getty Images
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