Hong Kong Arrests Two Lawmakers in Further Blow to Opposition
Hong Kong Arrests Two Lawmakers in Further Blow to Opposition
(Bloomberg) -- Two Hong Kong opposition politicians known for protesting against the city’s China-backed administration were among 16 people arrested on Wednesday, according to police, in the latest blow to the pro-democracy movement.
Democratic Party lawmakers Ted Hui and Lam Cheuk-ting were arrested at their homes, their party said in a statement.
The developments come in the wake of a sweeping national security law China imposed on Hong Kong in late June, leading to the arrest of more than a dozen people so far -- including prominent activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai. It did not initially appear that the arrests of the group including Hui and Lam were related to the new legislation.
“This is an arbitrary arrest,” Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said at a briefing. “It creates a chilling effect for lawmakers and citizens when expressing opinions. We strongly condemn this act. It does not help the current political dilemma in Hong Kong.”
The party said the arrests related to two incidents: A protest last year in the Tuen Mun neighborhood, and a separate incident linked to a July 2019 mob attack on bystanders in the suburb of Yuen Long. In a briefing on Wednesday, police said that a lawmaker and a bank vice-president were among those arrested.
Hui, a frequent participant in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, recently attracted attention for throwing a container of rotten plants on the floor during a bill debate at the Legislative Council.
Lam attempted to intervene in the Yuen Long attack on July 21, 2019. He was charged with rioting in relation to that incident, and of conspiring with others to damage property and obstruct the course of justice in Tuen Mun that July 6, according to a tweet posted to his account by an administrator Wednesday morning.
High-Profile Skirmish
The high-profile Yuen Long incident saw men in white shirts beat up a crowd at a subway station, including people wearing the black shirts favored by protesters. It triggered accusations by activists who said police had deliberately chosen not to intervene fast enough to stop the attack, even as they suppressed protests elsewhere.
Police have denied those accusations, and officers on Wednesday repeated an earlier denial of additional allegations that they had coordinated with the assailants. But they conceded that their response was delayed, in part because two officers who arrived at the scene called for backup before getting involved.
Before Wednesday, police had arrested a total of 44 people in relation to the Yuen Long attack and charged seven with taking part in a riot and conspiracy to wound others with intent, according to a police spokesman.
Lam has said he repeatedly tried to call officers before he got involved in the Yuen Long skirmish. His arrest could generate fresh anger about the incident, which spurred subsequent demonstrations.
He was injured in the skirmish and treated at a hospital, posting photos to Facebook of a cut on his lower lip. Lam said he had been hurt while blocking hits by wooden sticks wielded by attackers.
The arrests are the latest hit to the city’s pro-democracy movement, as protests that once drew hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets have almost entirely tapered off amid coronavirus-related social distancing restrictions and the enactment of the security law.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s Beijing-backed administration also recently disqualified a dozen pro-democracy lawmakers from a Legislative Council election originally scheduled for September -- and then delayed the vote for a year, citing a surge in Covid-19 cases. The lawmakers will be allowed to serve out their terms until the elections.
The U.S. has led international criticism of the national security law as an assault on freedoms in the semi-autonomous financial hub. Chinese officials have justified the measures as a way to restore stability to Hong Kong after months of sometimes-violent protests last year.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.