Hong Kong activists vow to return to the streets for post-coronavirus protests

Hong Kong activists vow to return to the streets on July 1st after police rounded up high level campaigners over the weekend, arresting fifteen on charges of being involved in massive city-wide protests that brought the city to a complete standstill on several occasions last year.

Hong Kong was shaken by widespread and sometimes violent street protests in 2019 AFP/File

The Hong Kong Civil Rights Front on 20 April tweeted that it “already applied for the big demonstration” under a large, yellow-on-black field depicting “7.1” or July 1^st, the date that marks the 1997 handover of Hong Kong by London to Beijing.

We will be back. #71 #HKprotest #antiELAB #FiveDemandsNotOneLess #policebrutality pic.twitter.com/w0tGDvJGz8

— Civil Human Rights Front 民間人權陣線 (@chrf_hk) April 20, 2020

“Hong Kong people will not back down in the face of mass arrests, and will persist on the irreversible revolution of our times,” according to the Front.

The announcement comes two days after police in Hong Kong carried out a massive operation against high-profile democracy campaigners on Saturday, arresting 15 activists on charges related to massive protests that rocked the Asian financial hub last year.

"No regrets"

The group also included the “father of Hong Kong’s democracy movement,” the 81-year-old Martin Lee, Margaret Ng, Albert Ho, Leung Kwok-hung, Au Nok-hin and current lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung.

Martin Lee, "father of Hong Kong's democracy movement," pictured here in his office on January 16, 2020 © RFI/Jan van der Made

Also targeted was 72-year-old media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of anti-establishment newspaper Apple Daily, who was arrested at his home.

Speaking after being released on bail in the afternoon, Martin Lee, who had never been arrested before, said he had no regrets about participating in the protests.

Whereas the protesters have been arrested and many of them have been brought to the courts, awaiting trial, no policeman has been arrested, or being investigated into for their brutality on the protesters

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Podcast: Interview with Martin Lee, founder Hong Kong Democracy Party, recorded January 16, 2020

“I’m relieved and very proud to finally be listed as a defendant after seeing so many brilliant young people arrested and charged, we’d be pursuing democracy together,” he told reporters outside Central Police Station.

Police said the activists were accused of “organising and taking part in unlawful assemblies” in August and October.

Five were arrested on suspicion of publicising unauthorised public meetings in September and October.

"The arrestees were charged or will be charged with related crimes," superintendent Lam Wing-ho said.

All 15 are due to appear in court mid-May.

Concerted challenge

Last year's rallies grew into a wider movement calling for greater freedoms in the most concerted challenge to Beijing's rule since the former British colony returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Protests and clashes with police have since died down, partly due to exhaustion and arrests but also because of the emergence of the deadly coronavirus.

China's leaders have refused to accede to the protesters' demands, which include fully free elections in the city, an inquiry into alleged police misconduct during the protests and an amnesty for more than 7,000 people arrested during the movement -- many of them under the age of 20.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said Saturday the local government "is trying very hard to introduce a reign of terror".

Hong Kong Legislator Claudia Mo Nan-ching of HK First here pictured in her office, 15 January 2020 RFI/Jan van der Made

"They are doing whatever they can do to try to silence, to take down the local opposition, but then united we stand," she said. "It's so obvious they're choreographing all their acts."

(With AFP)