Police in Hong Kong have arrested eight pro-democracy politicians on charges linked to physical attempts to reinstate the chairperson of a powerful committee that sets the order of business in the city’s Legislative Council (LegCo) on May 8.
Democratic Party lawmakers Wu Chi-wai, Andrew Wan, and Helena Wong were arrested on Saturday in connection with scuffles in LegCo sparked by a unilateral takeover of the House Committee chair by pro-Beijing lawmaker Starry Lee.
When pro-democracy lawmakers protested at the meeting, which was called to elect a new chairperson, they were ejected by LegCo security guards, one of whom was apparently injured during the prolonged scuffles, according to social media footage of the chaos.
Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung and party chairman Steven Kwok were also arrested, as were former lawmakers Ray Chan and Chu Hoi-dick, who refused to serve after chief executive Carrie Lam postponed LegCo elections scheduled for September, citing coronavirus concerns.
No pro-China lawmakers were arrested in connection with the incident.
In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement condemning the arrests
"The arrest of these lawmakers six months after the incident in question is a clear abuse of law enforcement for political purposes. The Hong Kong government’s harassment and intimidation of pro-democracy representatives and attempts to stifle dissent are stark examples of its ongoing complicity with the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party, which seeks to dismantle the promised autonomy of Hong Kong and eviscerate respect for human rights," said Pompeo.
Ma Yue, an associate professor in the Department of Politics and Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the arrests are the first time that lawmakers have been subjected to criminal charges for filibustering and in-chamber protests.
“In the past, members would be removed from the chamber at most, but now they can face criminal procedures, which may make it impossible for such protests to happen in the chamber now in future,” Ma told RFA on Monday.
“This issue is the erasure of … meaningful discussion and different voices from LegCo - if that happens then it will basically just feel like a rubber stamp,” he said.
The U.K.-based rights group Hong Kong Watch condemned the arrests in a statement on its website.
“It is a sad day for Hong Kong,” the group’s chief executive Benedict Rogers said. “These arrests mark the latest example of sustained political interference by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hong Kong’s democracy, as it seeks to abuse the law to settle political scores.”
“The fact that the police have targeted pro-democracy lawmakers, while sparing pro-Beijing politicians who were filmed physically assaulting their opposite numbers and dragging them from the chamber demonstrates the arbitrary and political nature of these arrests,” Rogers said.
He said Beijing is intent on reducing LegCo to a rubber-stamp body staffed by Beijing’s allies and out of touch with the people of Hong Kong, and called for a United Nations mechanism to monitor human rights abuses in Hong Kong.
Reported by Lu Xi and Man Hoi-tsan for RFA’s Cantonese and Mandarin Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.