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Former Democratic lawmakers Andrew Wan, left, Lam Cheuk-ting, second left, and Helena Wong, right, at a press conference after being released on bail.
AP Photo / Kin Cheung, file
The US joined Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada on Sunday to condemn the recent arrest of dozens of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
Fifty-five people – including US human rights lawyer John Clancey – were drafted last week to take part in unofficial legislative elections, in violation of Chinese law aimed at bridging differences of opinion in semi-autonomous Hong Kong relieved.
“It is clear that the National Security Act is being used to dispel disagreements and opposing political views,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterparts in the other three countries said in a joint letter issued Sunday. is, said.
“We call on the central authorities of Hong Kong and the Chinese to respect the legally guaranteed rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong without fear and arrest.”
Those arrested under the law were not formally charged, and almost all were released without bail.
The Hong Kong government fired back with a statement of its own and defended the application of the law.
“We are appalled by remarks by some overseas government officials who pretend that people with certain political beliefs should be immune from legal sanctions,” the statement said.
In 2019, Hong Kong was shocked by months of often violent protests demanding a more democratic government.
The Chinese Communist Party came under fire for increasingly oppressive practices, even as they sat in the judgment of countries like the US.
With Post threads