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Hong Kong police summon 47 dissidents to court over 'subversion' charges

Sunday, 28 February 2021 10:25 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 28 February 2021 10:37 AM ]

Hong Kong activist Mike Lam (C) gestures after speaking with the press outside Ma On Shan police station in Hong Kong on February 28, 2021, where he and 46 other dissidents were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit subversion. (Photo by AFP)

Hong Kong police have charged dozens of dissidents in the semi-autonomous Chinese city with conspiracy to commit subversion.

The police said in a statement on Sunday that 47 residents faced one count each of “conspiracy to commit subversion,” calling on them to appear in court on Monday.

The 47 people charged on Sunday had previously been arrested on January 6. They had been questioned and released pending further investigations.

Some had their phones and computers confiscated.

Activists denounced the arrests as political persecution of opposition figures for an unauthorized poll that drew 600,000 votes last summer.

They were accused of organizing and participating in the unauthorized “primary election” last July aimed at propping up their own candidates for a legislative council election, which China described as a “serious provocation.”

Hong Kong, China’s global financial hub city, has been troubled by anti-government protests that first erupted in June 2019 over a proposed extradition bill. Rioters vandalized the city, destroyed public and private property and attacked individuals deemed to be pro-government. The bill was halted, and later fully withdrawn, but demonstrations continued for months.

Protests flared up again in May 2020 after Beijing proposed a new national security bill for Hong Kong that would criminalize sedition, secession, and subversion against mainland China.

The legislation, which was signed into law by Chinese President Xi Jinping the following June, paved the way for Chinese national security institutions to operate in the city for the first time since 1997, when Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule.

Critics of the law view it as a blow to the region’s autonomy and civil liberties. China says the law is necessary to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces following violent protests in the city.

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Hong Kong police say 99 suspects have been arrested for violations of the new security law.

Anti-government protesters have vowed to continue to fight.

“Democracy is never a gift from heaven. It must be earned by many with strong will,” Jimmy Sham, a key organizer of the violent protests in 2019, told reporters outside a police station.

“We can tell the whole world, under the most painful system, Hong Kongers are the light of the city. We will remain strong and fight for what we want,” he added.

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