"Security law": Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow arrested

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Activist Agnes Chow has been arrested in Hong Kong during a wave of arrests

LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

The Hong Kong authorities have been cracking down on the democracy movement ever since China introduced the so-called security law. In addition to the media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai and other activists, the police in the Chinese Special Administrative Region also arrested the activist Agnes Chow. This was announced by their supporters on Monday evening (local time) on their official Facebook account. The arrest was based on the controversial Chinese "security law".

Along with Lai and Joshua Wong, Chow is one of the most prominent democracy activists in Hong Kong. Even before the so-called Security Act, they had been charged with participating in pro-democratic protests. Now they face life sentences.

The AFP news agency confirmed from police circles that Chow was one of ten people arrested on Monday under the "security law". The wave of arrests and the search of the Hong Kong media company by more than 200 police officers are the harshest and most visible measures to date against the Hong Kong democracy movement since Beijing enacted the National Security Protection Act in its Special Administrative Region at the end of June.

Politics of fear and terror

The so-called Security Act massively restricts civil rights in Hong Kong and represents the heaviest Chinese encroachment on the autonomy rights of the former British crown colony to date. This allows the authorities to crack down on all activities that they believe threaten national security. Violations can be punished with life imprisonment.

Most recently, activist Nathan Law, a fellow campaigner of Lai, warned against reprisals against democracy advocates in an interview with SPIEGEL. A policy of fear and terror has taken hold.

Since the return of the former British Crown Colony to China in 1997, Hong Kong has been ruled autonomously with its own liberties. From the point of view of critics, the State Security Act marks the end of the "one country, two systems" principle that has been pursued since then. It is also seen as a violation of China's international legal obligations when returning Hong Kong.

The arrest of Lai caused concern in the EU. The action heightened fears that the security law introduced by China would be used to restrict freedom of expression and the media, said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The European Union reminds them that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a central element of the Basic Law and the principle of "one country, two systems". Freedom of the media and pluralism are also pillars of democracy, as they are essential components of an open and free society.

mst / AFP / dpa