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(CNN) – Nearly 300 protesters were arrested in Hong Kong on Sunday, according to city police.
Hong Kong police said officers had arrested 289 people, most suspected of violating illegal assembly laws.
“Among them, 270 were suspected of illegal gathering, including 169 men and 101 women; 5 men were suspected of misconduct in public places; 5 men were suspected of not presenting valid identity documents,” the police force said in a publication by Facebook.
The remaining people were arrested “on suspicion of attacking police officers”, loitering and obstructing the police in the performance of their duties, the statement added.
The protesters were arrested in the Hong Kong neighborhoods of Yau Mai Tei and Mong Kok.
In early Sunday afternoon, large crowds gathered at Yau Mai Tei, demonstrating and shouting in a forbidden group gathering. Local elections were supposed to be held on Sunday, but the government has postponed them for at least a year due to the pandemic.
The opposition maintains that the Hong Kong authorities postponed the vote for fear that pro-government parties would get it wrong.
CNN producer Bex Wright witnessed a police surge of protesters along Shantung Street in Mong Kok on Sunday.
The officers used pepper spray against the protesters and several people were arrested at the scene, some were arrested by plainclothes police officers.
Meanwhile, at least one of the people arrested in the Yau Mai Tei neighborhood was detained for shouting pro-independence slogans.
Hong Kong police previously said that they issued several warnings to those gathered at Yau Mai Tei and asked them to disperse, but some people continued to gather.
A woman was arrested in Yau Mai Tei on suspicion of spreading slogans promoting “Hong Kong Independence”, violating the Hong Kong National Security Law, assaulting police officers and obstructing a police officer.
Elsewhere, a pro-democracy activist was arrested at his home Sunday morning for allegedly “uttering seditious words.”
Tam Tak-Chi, 47, was arrested at his home in the Tai Po district on Sunday, according to Hong Kong police.
Senior Superintendent Steve Li Kwai-Wah of the Hong Kong Police Department of Homeland Security section said Tam is accused of giving anti-government talks in booths he allegedly set up on the street in the Kowloon area.
The activist is also accused of posting seditious material on Facebook.
Police reiterated Sunday that attending prohibited group gatherings was an illegal act, as was any unauthorized gathering attempt, adding that such acts also seriously increased the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Hong Kong has been plagued by political unrest since June 2019, when anti-government protests broke out in the city. Many protesters oppose Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government.
The crisis shows no signs of abating, but the coronavirus stopped the opportunity for a public meeting in 2020.
Beijing subsequently imposed a new national security law on the city in June, before the unrest resumed.
The law, which was bypassed by Hong Kong’s semi-democratic legislature, prohibits subversion, secession and collusion with foreign forces, with severe prison terms for anyone found in violation.
The Hong Kong police force has been repeatedly accused of using violent tactics against protesters.
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