There are fears that demonstrators in Hong Kong will take to the streets again, following yesterday's arrests of more than a dozen high-profile opposition activists for allegedly organising unlawful protests in the city last year. Among the 15 democracy campaigners arrested were Mr Martin Lee, touted as the godfather of democracy in Hong Kong, former lawmakers Albert Ho, "Long Hair" Leung Kwok Hung and Au Nok Hin, as well as Civil Human Rights Front's Lee Cheuk Yan and its vice-convenor Figo Chan. Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who owns Apple Daily, was arrested in the afternoon for organising and participating in unlawful marches on Aug 18 and Oct 1. Lai, along with two others arrested yesterday, was previously charged with unlawful assembly in February. The activists were detained for their alleged involvement in protests on Aug 18, Oct 1 and Oct 20 last year. The police said at a briefing yesterday afternoon at the Central Police Station that the case has been brought up for criminal proceedings and declined to give details. Earlier in the day, at the Legislative Council, the opposition camp accused the authorities of trying to silence dissent, acting on orders from Beijing. Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi Wai vowed the pan-democrats would resist and fight back. He said: "The timing is too much of a coincidence. In the past week, the liaison office, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, officials and political veterans have criticised us and warned us about national security issues." The chief of the Beijing liaison office in Hong Kong, Mr Luo Huining, last week repeated calls for the city to introduce national security laws "as soon as possible" to combat radical violence, foreign interference and pro-independence forces. In a video message to mark National Security Education Day, he said the protests that plagued Hong Kong last year were orchestrated by pro-independence forces and violent radicals, which threaten national security and the "one country, two systems" principle. The pro-establishment camp yesterday defended the arrests.
CONCERN OVER TIMING The timing is too much of a coincidence. In the past week, the liaison office, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, officials and political veterans have criticised us and warned us about national security issues. MR WU CHI WAI, chairman of the Democratic Party, on the timing of the arrests of several high-profile opposition activists.
Lawmaker and former security secretary Regina Ip said the resistance was an "overreaction" from the pan-democrats. Last year, the authorities banned all three marches organised by the Civil Human Rights Fronton Aug 18, Oct 1 and Oct 20. But the Aug 18 gathering, which was lawful to start with, turned into a march after pro-democracy veterans led crowds onto the streets. The front claimed that more than 1.7 million people took part that day, while the police put the estimate at 128,000. Hong Kong was hit by unrest last year that spanned some seven months, but this cooled as the coronavirus outbreak took hold. The unrest, which started off in opposition to a now-suspended extradition Bill, morphed into a pro-democracy movement with massive demonstrations over many weekends, many of which resulted in bloody clashes.