Hong Kong riot police arrest dozens of anti-Beijing protesters after silent march descended into scuffles and blockades were set up in the street
- Riot police watched on as several hundred people marched from Jordan to Mong Kok in the Kowloon district
- Slogans were shouted at officers and scuffles broke out in Mong Kok, prompting police to use pepper spray
- Demonstrators attempted to set up blockades in the street and police arrested 53 for unlawful assembly
- Beijing's new national security laws further erode the democratic traditions of the former British territory
Hong Kong police arrested at least 53 people on Sunday after scuffles erupted during a relatively peaceful protest against planned national security legislation to be implemented by the mainland Chinese government.
Armed riot police were present as a crowd of several hundred moved from Jordan to Mong Kok in the Kowloon district, staging what was intended as a 'silent protest' against the planned law.
However, chanting and slogans were shouted towards police and later scuffles broke out in Mong Kok, prompting police to use pepper spray to subdue parts of the crowd.
Hong Kong Police said on Facebook that 53 people had been arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, adding that earlier some protesters tried to blockade roads in the area.
The proposed national security law has raised concerns among Hong Kong democracy activists and some foreign governments that Beijing is further eroding the extensive autonomy promised when Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997.
A man gestures at a police officer during a silent march against the national security law in Hong Kong on Sunday. The proposed national security law has raised concerns among Hong Kong democracy activists and some foreign governments that Beijing is further eroding the extensive autonomy promised when Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997.
A man is detained by police during a silent march against the national security law in Hong Kong, China. China's top legislative body is set to pass a legislation for Hong Kong aiming to prevent, stop and punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
Pro-democracy protesters raise their hands up as a symbol of the 'Five demands, not one less' during a march against the looming national security legislation in Hong Kong
'The governments wants to shut us up and to kick us out,' one protester, Roy Chan, 44, said. 'We must stand up and strike down all those people who deprive Hong Kong people's freedom.'
Sunday's event came a day after Hong Kong police refused permission for an annual march usually held on July 1 to mark the 1997 handover, citing a ban on large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
China has said the new security law will target only a small group of troublemakers as it tackles separatism, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong.
A pro-democracy protester is detained by the police during a silent march against the national security law in Hong Kong, China, 28 June 2020. China's top legislative body is set to pass a legislation for Hong Kong aiming to prevent, stop and punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
Policemen walk past a pro-democracy protester during a silent march against the national security law in Hong Kong, China, 28 June 2020. China's top legislative body is set to pass a legislation for Hong Kong aiming to prevent, stop and punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
Armed riot police were present as a crowd of several hundred moved from Jordan to Mong Kok in the Kowloon district, staging what was intended as a 'silent protest' against the planned law. However, chanting and slogans were shouted towards police and later scuffles broke out in Mong Kok, prompting police to use pepper spray to subdue parts of the crowd.
Sunday's event came a day after Hong Kong police refused permission for an annual march usually held on July 1 to mark the 1997 handover, citing a ban on large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic. China has said the new security law will target only a small group of troublemakers as it tackles separatism, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong.
Riot police stand guard to avoid mass gathering during a protest against the looming national security legislation in Hong Kong, China
China's National People's Congress Standing Committee reviewed a draft of the bill on Sunday.
Chinese state media reported that lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the draft.
The Chinese government has 'unshakable determination to push ahead with enactment of the security bill and safeguard national sovereignty and interest,' state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a government spokesperson.
Police officers stand guard as people gather during a pro-democracy rally supporting human rights and to protest against Beijing's national security law in Hong Kong
People are seen inside a police bus after they were detained during a protest against the looming national security legislation in Hong Kong, China
How Hong Kong's freedoms were won... and now lost
Hong Kong was ruled by Britain from 1842 to 1997.
China's imperial Qing Dynasty ceded the island to Queen Victoria under the Treaty of Nanking on August 29, 1842, to end the First Opium War.
Between 1839 and 1842, British armies fought the opium war on behalf of drug traffickers against the Qing Dynasty. Their victory opened up the lucrative China trade to British merchants.
On July 1, 1898, Britain was granted 99 years of rule over the Hong Kong colony under the The Second Convention of Peking. The lease would allow Britain to also have sovereignty over the New Territories, which is connected to mainland China, together with 235 islands.
An international bilateral announcement, the Sino–British Joint Declaration, was signed by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Chinese counterpart Zhao Ziyang on December 19, 1984.
A pro-democracy protester waves a British colonial flag during a rally at a shopping mall in the Central district in Hong Kong earlier this month
According to the document, Hong Kong would revert to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, under an administrative principle known as 'one country, two systems'.
The policy was to guarantee Hong Kong greater freedoms than those on the mainland until 2047, such as the freedom of speech and people's right to protest.
The handover ceremony, which ended more than 150 years of British control over the territory, was attended by Prince Charles, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and Hong Kong's last governor Chris Patten.
Memorialised by the Chinese with a blockbuster movie, the handover was touted by Beijing as a great victory, while many in Britain regarded it as not just deeply humiliating, but also a travesty for the people of Hong Kong.
Patten would later write: 'Hong Kong became the only example of decolonization deliberately accompanied by less democracy and a weaker protection of civil liberties.
'This was a cause for profound regret, especially for the departing colonial power. But it was China's doing and China's decision.
'I am pleased that Britain narrowly avoided complicity in the dishonourable act of denying the citizens of free Hong Kong what they had been promised in 1984.'
Many historians interpret the handover of Hong Kong as the end of British Empire, the ceding of her last substantial overseas colony - one with a colossal population and potent economic power.
Britain's remaining territories consisted of tiny islands or enclaves with little to offer financially.
In the last year of Britain's grip on Hong Kong the island's GDP was $180billion. In contrast the island of Bermuda's GDP was $5.6billion in 2013.
