Police arrest a protester in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. - SOPA Images / SIPA / SIPA

Beijing will therefore soon be firm. Less than 24 hours after the entry into force of the national security law imposed on Hong Kong, the police made the first arrests under it. Promulgated on Tuesday by Chinese President Xi Jinping, this legislation raises fears for the Hong Kong opposition that there has been an unprecedented decline in freedoms since the United Kingdom's handover of the territory to China in 1997.

23rd anniversary of the handover

Of the approximately 370 people arrested on Wednesday by law enforcement officials, ten were arrested for alleged violations of the national security law, while thousands of Hong Kongers gathered to mark the 23rd anniversary of the handover former British colony to China. The rally was banned a few days ago by the authorities, for the first time in 17 years.

The police used water cannons, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse them. Many of them chanted slogans in favor of independence. "What this authoritarian regime wants to do is terrorize the people and prevent them from leaving," said Chris To, a 49-year-old protester. According to the police, seven police officers were injured, including one stabbed in the shoulder while trying to make an arrest.

Carrie Lam Welcomes the Law

Wednesday morning, during the traditional flag raising ceremony which marks the anniversary of the handover, the chief executive of the Hong Kong executive loyal to Beijing, Carrie Lam, welcomed this law which, according to her, constitutes "the most important event important in relations between the central government and Hong Kong since the handover ”. It makes it possible to punish four types of crimes against the security of the State: subversion, separatism, terrorism and collusion with outside forces. In some cases, the law provides that the Chinese courts have jurisdiction and impose sentences ranging from 10 years' imprisonment to life imprisonment for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes.

The CCP's draconian national security law ends free Hong Kong and exposes the Party's greatest fear: the free will and free thinking of its own people.

- Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 30, 2020

Many Western countries, including 27 members of the UN Human Rights Council, have condemned the text, fearing that it will lead to the repression of all political opposition. The United States has threatened China with reprisals, promising not to "sit idly by".

The US House of Representatives unanimously approved a text on Wednesday that provides for automatic sanctions against Chinese officials who violate China's international obligations in favor of Hong Kong's autonomy. This text being slightly different from that which had already been approved by the Senate on June 25, there also unanimously, it will be submitted Thursday for a new vote in the upper house.

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