HONG KONG: More than 100 people were arrested and police fired tear gas and pepper spray on Sunday (May 24) after thousands of Hong Kong protesters gathered in opposition to a controversial security law proposed by China last week.
As the demonstrators and police faced off in Hong Kong, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed "without the slightest delay".
The planned legislation - expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition - and comes after Hong Kong was shaken last year by months of massive, often-violent protests, and repeated warnings from Beijing that it would not tolerate dissent.
READ: Hong Kong's controversial security law: What is it and why does China want it?
With campaigners warning the proposal could spell the end of the city's treasured freedoms, thousands gathered in the busy Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts, chanting slogans, as some masked protesters set up makeshift barricades to stop police vehicles.
"People may be criminalised only for words they say or publish opposing the government," 25-year-old protester Vincent told AFP.
"I think Hongkongers are very frustrated because we didn't expect this to come so fast and so rough. But ... we won't be as naive as to believe that Beijing will simply sit back and do nothing. Things will only get worse here."
Riot police were deployed after earlier warnings from authorities against unauthorised assembly and the city's current coronavirus-linked law banning public gatherings of more than eight people.
As the number of protesters swelled, police fired tear gas and pepper spray to try and disperse the crowd, and later deployed water cannon and armoured vehicles.
The Hong Kong Police Force said in a Facebook post that at least 120 protesters were arrested for illegal assembly as of 4.30pm.
Protesters had dismantled scaffolding on the roadside in Wan Chai, the Hong Kong government said in a news release.
They also set up barricades with stones, potted plants and umbrellas, and smashed traffic lights on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai.
"Police officers are maintaining law and order at the scene and using the minimum necessary force, including tear gas, to disperse the rioters," it added.
The scenes on Sunday were the most intense in months.
They followed a similar pattern to many of last year's demonstrations, with police firing tear gas and pepper spray, and protesters pushing back - some throwing objects such as umbrellas at the police.
Bricks were thrown at police vehicles on Sunday, and the window of the driver's seat in one police car was smashed in, leaving one officer bleeding, according to the Hong Kong police.
Several other police officers and citizens were also injured and had to be sent to the hospital for treatment, the police added.
The Hong Kong pro-democracy movement had previously fizzled as arrests mounted and, later, large gatherings were banned to stop the coronavirus.
More than 8,300 people have been arrested since the protests erupted last year. Around 200 were detained during small rallies at malls on Mother's Day earlier this month.
Police had warned that they would "make arrests as appropriate", and at least one pro-democracy campaigner was detained by police on Sunday at the start of the rally, AFP reporters said.
READ: Hong Kongers fret over Beijing's planned new security laws
Hong Kong residents enjoy rights - including freedom of speech - unseen on the mainland as part of the agreement that saw the British colony handed back to China in 1997, and the city has its own legal system and trade status.
Fears had been growing for years that Beijing was chipping away at those freedoms and tightening its control on the city, and campaigners have described the new proposal as the most brazen move yet.
Of particular concern is a provision allowing Chinese security agents to operate in Hong Kong, and that they could launch a crackdown against those dissenting against the mainland's Communist rulers.
"I'm very scared, but I still have to come out," said protester Christy Chan, 23.
"Aside from being peaceful, rational and non-violent, I don't see many ways to send out our messages."
READ: Hong Kong security law must be imposed 'without slightest delay': Chinese FM
Despite the alarm in Hong Kong and in some Western capitals, Chinese and city officials have insisted the proposed law is needed to prevent unrest and protect national security.
A top pro-Beijing official, however, said on Saturday that mainland law enforcement would not operate in Hong Kong without "approval" from local authorities.
"I'm not worried about anybody being arrested by a police officer from the mainland and then taken back to China for investigation or punishment," Maria Tam, a Hong Kong law advisor to the Chinese parliament, told AFP.
"It is not, not, not going to happen."
Hong Kong's unpopular pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam has defended the new proposal, saying it was necessary to protect national security and punish "violent political elements".
But there is deep mistrust of China's opaque legal system in Hong Kong and of how Beijing might use the proposed regulations in the city.
The massive protests last year were sparked by a now-scrapped bill that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, and there are fears the new motion would be even more wide-ranging.
The new proposal could prove even more wide-ranging than that plan, and several Western governments have voiced alarm.
China's legislature is expected to sign off on the draft resolution on Thursday, the last day of the annual parliamentary gathering, before the details are fleshed out at another meeting at a later date.
Officials have said the law would then be implemented locally.
MORE: Our coverage of the Hong Kong protests
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2020-05-24 10:26:54Z
CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL2hvbmcta29uZy1wcm90ZXN0cy1jaGluYS1zZWN1cml0eS1sYXctcHJvcG9zYWwtcG9saWNlLXRlYXItZ2FzLTEyNzY1NDA20gEA
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