Jubilee Post News & Views
Jubilee News Desk
Police fired pepper-sprayed balls at crowds in Hong Kong protesting against government decision to delay legislative elections in the territory and about 100 people were arrested during the demonstrations.
The elections were slated on September 6, but the government took the decision to postpone them by a year saying it was necessary citing a rise in coronavirus infections as the reason behind.
But the opposition is accusing the government of using the pandemic as a pretext to stop people from voting. Opposition activists had hoped to obtain a majority in the Legislative Council (LegCo), capitalising on anger at Beijing’s imposition of a controversial national security law in Hong Kong, and fears that the territory’s freedoms are being eroded.
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Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997 under an agreement meant to guarantee a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. Pro-democracy candidates had made unprecedented gains in last year’s district council elections, winning 17 out of 18 councils.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to mark the day the elections had been due to be held. Chanting “Give me back my right to vote!”, groups of protesters walked a short distance before they were confronted by heavily armed riot police.
Earlier, a high-profile opposition activist, Tam Tak-chi, was detained, accused of making speeches that could incite hatred and contempt of the government.
He was held by police working to enforce the Chinese territory’s new strict national security law, which was imposed by Beijing in June and criminalises many forms of political expression.
