It is reported that there are two district council members among the detainees.
Hong Kong police detained at least 62 participants in illegal protests on Thursday to mark the 71st anniversary of China’s bank holiday. This was reported by the South China Morning Post newspaper with reference to sources in law enforcement agencies.
Individual groups of demonstrators have attempted to gather in the Causeway Bay shopping and entertainment area. However, police units with special equipment have been on heavy duty there since morning. They repress attempts by young people to shout anti-government slogans, check the documents of passers-by and inspect the personal belongings of suspicious people. It is reported that two district council members are among the detainees.
A total of 6,000 officers were mobilised by the police on that day in various parts of the city. The authorities have not approved the opposition’s request to hold an anti-government rally on the island, arguing that they have refused to allow the coronavirus to spread. However, activists on the internet called for people to take to the streets dressed in black with protest slogans, block roads and ‘wreak havoc’.
According to the police, a knife was taken from one of the detainees. In the Vontaysin area on the mainland, two intruders threw a Molotov cocktail on the road and scattered rubbish. However, the overall situation in the city is calm and no serious incidents have yet been reported.
In the summer of 2019, mass disturbances broke out in this special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China because of the intention of local authorities to pass an extradition bill allowing for the extradition of offenders to mainland China. The riots lasted several months.
On 30 June this year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (Parliament of the People’s Republic of China) passed a law on ensuring national security in Hong Kong. It aims to prevent crimes such as separatism, terrorism, undermining state power and collusion with foreign forces. The legal act provides for life imprisonment as a capital punishment and the establishment of special state security bodies with broad powers in Hong Kong.