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HONG KONG – A year ago, China’s National Day on October 1 was a day of protest and unrest in Hong Kong. The protesters started fires and blocked streets. The police responded with tear gas and pepper spray. An officer shot a young protester with a live bullet.
Thursday’s holiday once again brought protesters to the streets of Hong Kong. This time, however, their numbers were much smaller and they were suffocated by thousands of policemen. The police rounded up and searched dozens of people at once, effectively stifling all but the briefest expressions of dissent.
The stark contrast from year to year shows how Hong Kong authorities have used social distancing rules, an overwhelming police presence, and a general national security law imposed on the city by Beijing in late June to silence demonstrations in favor of democracy. Public discontent remains high in Hong Kong, but showing it is increasingly risky.
Police had banned the protests on Thursday, citing coronavirus concerns, so activists sought creative ways to circumvent the restrictions. Some demonstrations looked more like performance art than seas of people with thunderous chants that were the hallmark of last year’s protests.
Several protesters were on the streets of Causeway Bay, a business district, holding copies of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper, as if they were reading them. Newspapers ran full-page ads with slogans such as “Protect Children, Maintain Your Conscience.” A teenager played popular protest tunes on a tape recorder at a busy intersection while protesters chanted.
Police targeted many youths, including some who wore black, a color associated with the protest movement, and led them behind a security cordon near luxury stores. Several older residents and people carrying shopping bags were also detained.
Officers displayed blue banners warning against unauthorized gatherings. They raised purple banners as some people chanted protest slogans that authorities said could violate the new security law.
By midafternoon, the police had blocked much of Causeway Bay and prevented pedestrians from staying. They detained at least 60 people, including two members of the district council, on suspicion of participating in an unauthorized assembly.
Police said they had seized a sharp knife, as well as sticks, masks and protest stickers. Officers were also investigating reports that Molotov cocktails had been dumped on a main road in the Kowloon district.
Before the holidays, Luo Huining, director of China’s powerful representative office in Hong Kong, said it was important that young people and civil servants in the semi-autonomous region feel more patriotic. He called for more education on topics such as China’s national security, history and culture.
“As a Chinese, loving the country is not a choice, but a duty and the right course,” he said in a speech on Wednesday.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said during a National Day gathering on Thursday that the relative calm showed the value of national security legislation. “During the past three months, the plain truth is, and it is obvious to see, that stability has been restored to society while safeguarding national security,” she said.
Ms. Lam also stated, once again, that city residents continued to enjoy basic rights and freedoms. Activists and academics have challenged the government’s stance, pointing out that the security law, with political offenses loosely defined as subversion, was being used to attack speech that had long been protected.
Some protesters had planned to demonstrate in support of 12 Hong Kong people who were being held in the neighboring mainland city of Shenzhen on charges of illegal border crossing. The group, which included people who had been charged in Hong Kong for acts committed during protests last year, had tried to escape to Taiwan by boat in August when they were captured by the Chinese Coast Guard.
On Wednesday, Shenzhen prosecutors authorized the continued detention of the 12 Hong Kong residents. Two of them were charged with organizing an illegal border crossing, which carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison, while the remaining 10 were charged with illegally crossing a border, which carries up to one year in prison. . That means they are likely to face trial in mainland China.
Police warned protesters not to violate the ban on groups of more than four people, but did not interfere when a group of a few dozen government supporters gathered in Wan Chai district to sing the chinese national anthem and wave national flags.
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