Cops arrest Hong Kong MPs

Seven pro-democracy politicians in Hong Kong have been arrested over scuffles that broke out in the LegCo.

Eddie Chu is dragged out of the chamber in May. Picture: Getty Images

Seven pro-democracy politicians in Hong Kong were arrested on Sunday over protests and scuffles that broke out in the city’s legislature earlier this year, the latest prosecution targeting Beijing’s opponents in the deeply divided city.

The arrests of Wu Chi Wai, Andrew Wan, Helena Wong, Kwok Wing Kin, Eddie Chu, Raymond Chan and Fernando Cheung were announced on individual and party Facebook pages.

The seven politicians — four of them sitting MPs — were arrested on charges of “contempt” and “interfering” with members of the city’s Legislative Council in early May, police said.

The LegCo passes semi-autonomous Hong Kong’s laws but only half of its seats are directly elected and a complex appointment system ensures the city’s pro-Beijing establishment are all but guaranteed a majority.

On May 8, confrontations broke out in a committee that decides which bills come up for debate. The opposition had used months of filibustering to stop the appointment of the committee’s leader. The pro-Beijing camp responded by forcibly installing one of their politicians to the chair. That prompted angry scenes and protests in the chamber with members from both sides using placards to protest amid heckling and physical obstruction. Security guards and pro-Beijing MPs dragged most of the pro-democracy politicians from the chamber and the installation of the committee chair went ahead.

One pro-Beijing politician was seen dragging an opponent out by his shirt collar — an incident which has sparked an ongoing private prosecution. Sunday’s police action singled out the pro-democracy politicians for arrest and is the latest in a string of prosecutions launched against Beijing critics.

The inability of Hong Kongers to elect their leaders has been at the heart of swelling opposition to Beijing’s rule, including the huge and often violent democracy protests that broke out last year.

More than 10,000 people were arrested and the courts are now filled with trials. In a direct response to the protests, Beijing bypassed the legislature and imposed a sweeping new national security law on Hong Kong in late June. Beijing says the law has restored stability. Critics say it has delivered a hammer blow to the city’s stuttering freedoms.

The arrested politicians could face up to a year in jail if convicted. However, the Liaison Office — which represents Beijing in the city — has warned that future LegCo protests constitute one of the new national security crimes, which carry 10 years to life in jail.

In September, elections for the LegCo were postponed for a year with authorities blaming the coronavirus.

AFP