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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 HK crackdown escalates after 53 are arrested
Democracy advocate Lester Shum, center, is taken away by police officers after being arrested in Hong Kong yesterday. Photo: Reuters
‘SHOCKED’: The Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei said that Hong Kong had changed from being the ‘pearl of the Orient’ to the ‘purgatory of the Orient’
/ AFP, HONG KONG
China’s crackdown in Hong Kong escalated dramatically yesterday, with police arresting 53 democracy advocates in the largest operation since a new National Security Law was imposed on the territory.
The arrests were the latest salvo in Beijing’s battle to stamp out dissent in the territory after millions took to the streets in 2019 in sometimes violent protests.
Police confirmed that 53 people — including a US citizen — were arrested for “subversion” in an early morning operation that involved about 1,000 officers.
The charges were sparked by an attempt last year by opposition groups to win a majority in the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee （李家超） described the arrests as “necessary” and aimed at a group who tried to “sink Hong Kong into an abyss” and “overthrow the government.”
China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office said that those facing prosecution strategically organized or implemented a plan to paralyze the government.
However, the operation sparked a rebuke from Antony Blinken, US president-elect Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, who said the authorities were launching “an assault on those bravely advocating for universal rights.”
“The ... [incoming] administration will stand with the people of Hong Kong and against Beijing’s crackdown on democracy,” Blinken said.
In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council said that it was “shocked” at the latest arrests in Hong Kong and that the territory had changed from the “pearl of the Orient” to the “purgatory of the Orient.”
If Hong Kong’s democracy and freedom continue to decline, and it affects its status as an international financial center, it would not benefit Beijing at all, the council said.
Those detained represented a broad cross-section of Hong Kong’s democracy advocates, from veteran former legislators such as James To （涂謹申）, Andrew Wan （尹兆堅）, Lam Cheuk-ting （林卓廷） and Claudia Mo （毛孟靜）, to a host of younger campaigners.
Among them were Gwyneth Ho （何桂藍）, a former journalist, Hong Kong District Councilor Tiffany Yuen （袁嘉蔚） and Jeffrey Andrews, a campaigner known for working with ethnic minorities.
Colleagues of Joshua Wong （黃之鋒）, one of the territory’s most famous democracy advocates, who is in jail, said on Facebook that Wong’s home had been searched.
National security police also searched a law firm known for taking on human rights cases.
John Clancey, a US lawyer working for the firm, was arrested on suspicion of subversion, two sources said.
It was the first time a US national had been detained under the national security law.
“Continue to work for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong,” Clancey told reporters as he was led away by police officers.
Some of the remaining members of Hong Kong’s opposition gathered for a news conference yesterday afternoon, raising their fists and shouting: “Free all political prisoners.”
The foundations of the mass arrests were laid last year when pro-democracy parties organized an unofficial primary for elections which were ultimately scrapped.
The campaign’s aim was to win a legislative majority and try to block government policies.
Additional reporting by Reuters
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
