Hong Kong arrests 53 pro-democracy activists over allegations of national security threat

“The operation today targets the active elements who are suspected to be involved in the crime of overthrowing, or interfering [to] seriously destroy the Hong Kong government’s legal execution of duties,” said John Lee, Hong Kong’s security minister, adding that the plot would lead to anarchy, causing severe damage to Hong Kong.

“The plot is to create such mutual destruction that if successful … will result in serious damage to society as a whole,” he said. “That is why police action today is necessary.”

Kelly Craft, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, condemned the arrests in a tweet Wednesday morning.

“Outraged by the shameful arrests of dozens of pro-democracy leaders & activists in Hong Kong,” she wrote. “While the Chinese Communist Party seeks to silence dissent and undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, the U.S. stands with the people of Hong Kong and their long-standing commitment to freedom.”

In the United Kingdom, Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, called the mass incarcerations a “shocking crackdown on democratic opposition.”

Benedict Rogers, the chief executive and founder of Hong Kong Watch, a nongovernment organization in the U.K. designed to promote human rights, expressed his outrage at the arrests in a tweet on Tuesday.

“We have been used to seeing shocking arrests in #HongKong. But this is completely shocking, in another league,” he wrote. “How can these brave, gentle, peaceful, intelligent people be criminalised for daring to run for election? This requires the most robust of responses by the free world.”

The arrests come as China faces global scrutiny for its lack of transparency, particularly regarding its handling of the coronavirus. As China grapples with criticism for its role in the outbreak of the global pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party tightened restrictions on free speech earlier this week.

The new rules were passed following the controversy surrounding the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor who was punished for sharing information about the coronavirus and who subsequently fatally contracted the disease himself. Supporters rushed to Wenliang’s defense when he was first arrested, claiming his decision to share his knowledge of the disease filled a void left by journalists too intimidated to report on the impending outbreak.

“There were few independent professional media to investigate and report on the outbreak, nor did medical professionals provide independent advice to the public,” Shanghai-based constitutional scholar Zhang Xuezhong wrote in an open letter after Wenliang was taken into custody. “It only shows that the government’s long-term tight control of society and people has almost completely destroyed the organization and self-help capabilities of Chinese society.”