torsdag 23. april 2020

A fresh crackdown in Hong Kong 'will result in deaths', says democracy leader

Martin Lee, the 81-year-old founder of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, has said there will be more fatalities and protests if authorities try to pass anti-subversion laws – which would outlaw “sedition, subversion and the theft of state secrets” – before the September legislature election.

“It will result in deaths for sure,” he told the Guardian. “The Communist party won’t show any mercy. They have already stated their stance.” Lee said he had felt guilty seeing some 7,000 people arrested during the months-long anti-government movement, but that his own arrest on Saturday meant he could at last look them in the face. “It was a good thing,” the barrister said. Lee said his arrest, along with 14 other veteran pro-democracy figures on charges of illegal assembly, and high-profile posturing from China over the past week, were part of Beijing’s wider plan to tighten its control over Hong Kong.