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Actually, the people of Hong Kong should be able to vote today, but Prime Minister Lam ordered a one-year postponement. Instead, they protested. The police arrested 289 people.
289 protesters have been arrested during protests against the Hong Kong government. Most of them were arrested on suspicion of “illegal gathering,” police said. Democracy activists Figo Chan and Leung Kwok-hung were among those arrested.
As reported by the “South China Morning Post”, police officers used pepper balls against the protesters. Hundreds of police officers patrolled Kowloon to prevent actions outside the rally. A total of thousands of security guards were deployed.
Election postponed for one year
The reason for the demonstration was the postponement of the regional elections originally scheduled for today and a protest against the “security law.” People kept yelling “Give me back my choice!”, “Corrupt cops!” or “Free Hong Kong”. Later, the police arrested and searched the protesters.
Is the corona pandemic just an excuse?
Prime Minister Carrie Lam postponed the elections by one year to the end of July, justifying this with an increase in new coronavirus infections. There were no political motives for this.
Yet this is exactly what activists in the democracy movement suspect. He accuses the government of being afraid that the opposition will win in parliament. The pro-democracy forces hoped to obtain a majority in the Legislative Council for the first time.
Hong Kong’s special status is ignored
The “security law” passed by China in late June allows Hong Kong authorities to crack down on any activity they believe threatens national security.
The law marks the most serious usurpation of Hong Kong’s autonomous status to date. When it was handed over to China in 1997, the former British crown colony had received special rights for 50 years based on the principle of “one country, two systems,” including freedom of speech and assembly.
