Hong Kong

Hong Kong police have arrested three people for chanting slogans on the university campus last month. The three activists have been accused of chanting "banned" slogans and violating the controversial national security law.

Advertisment

The arrests have sparked a fresh row of protests in the city.

Li Kwai-wah, a senior officer in Hong Kong's new national security unit claimed the three had been arrested for "inciting secession" and unlawful assembly." They were spotted waving flags and chanting slogans advocating Hong Kong's independence," he said.

Also read| Hong Kong police confirm bank account freeze of runaway pro-democracy politician

Advertisment

With the three main protestors, five others were also arrested for unlawful assembly. 

These arrests have sparked fresh criticism against the national security law which has gained extreme criticism from various international organisations and governments and has also been dubbed as a tool to silence the pro-democracy voices.

Hong Kong has been observing protests since the proposal of the law was revealed in the middle of the pandemic year. Beijing has claimed the security law was needed to restore stability in the city. Locals and pro-democracy activists have, on the other hand, argued this law is yet another imposition by China to gain control over the city.

Advertisment

×

These arrests were made for a series of protests and rallies that were held last month where masked students were spotted waving banners of "banned" slogans during a small unofficial graduation rally at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The slogans mentioned were "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times" and "Hong Kong independence, the only way out" — two slogans which were popular last year but h been classified as "illegal" by the government.

The protestors had also sung "Glory to Hong Kong", a popular protest song that has been widely criticised by the Chinese government and officials.