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Riot police were deployed to Hong Kong on Friday after democracy activists threatened to challenge the ban on meetings during the coronavirus pandemic, but the streets remained largely calm.
The semi-autonomous financial center was hit by seven months of violent protests last year, hurting its reputation for stability and leaving the city deeply divided.
Widespread arrests, the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures marked the beginning of four months of comparative calm.
But small protests have erupted last week, and activists have issued calls to meet once again on May, despite emergency anti-virus laws that prohibit more than four people from meeting in public.
Pro-democracy unions and social media posts called for people to gather in various neighborhoods on Friday afternoon, but the threat did not materialize to any great extent.
However, hundreds of protesters gathered in small groups at a shopping mall in the city of Shatin, chanting slogans and holding protest flags.
Riot police soon rushed to the mall and used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
The stores closed their blinds when the police occupied the mall and cordoned off most of the area.
“I feel that the movement has been diluted due to the pandemic, but personally I think we should continue to fight,” said a retired firefighter who identified himself as Lam and was at the protest.
“If we go back and accept our destiny, then we will live under an authoritarian regime.”
Officers increased their presence on Friday, mainly looking for young passengers at subway stations and showing up in neighborhoods where anti-government sentiment is high.
Some encrypted chat groups used by protesters were concerned that public protests while anti-virus laws were being implemented could lead to mass arrests.
The pro-democracy Labor Party said a local politician was arrested for allegedly meeting with more than four people on Friday morning.
During brief shopping center protests earlier this week, activists encouraged each other to stay 1.5 meters away and stay in small groups of four.
Riot police quickly intercepted flashmobs, forcing them to disband as illegal assemblies or meetings that violated anti-virus measures.
– Panic decreases –
Three months ago, Hong Kong residents were terrified of buying masks and huddled in cramped apartments as one of the first places outside of mainland China to be hit by the coronavirus.
But fear has decreased in recent weeks.
Health authorities have made impressive progress against the outbreak with just over 1,000 infections and four deaths.
For five of the past seven days, the city of seven million has reported no new cases, and authorities plan to begin easing movement restrictions in the coming weeks.
But any relaxation would come at a time of renewed political tension, and as the anniversary of the start of last year’s big protests approaches.
Anger towards Beijing has been fueled by the recent arrest of prominent moderate activists on protests-related charges and senior Chinese officials announcing a greater voice on how Hong Kong is run.
Last year’s protests began in opposition to an eventually scrapped plan to allow extraditions to China’s party-controlled courts.
But the movement soon turned into a popular revolt against the Beijing government and a call for greater freedoms.
The Hong Kong and Beijing governments have avoided any reconciliation movement, resisting demands for an investigation into police conduct, an amnesty for the 7,800 people arrested during the protests and universal suffrage.
