CORRECTION - UK Foreign Secretary Denounces Hong Kong Activist Arrests

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th September, 2021) UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned on Wednesday the arrests of four Hong Kong activists, calling it a "chilling" demonstration of the National Security Law.

Earlier today, Hong Kong police arrested four key members of a pro-democracy group, labeled the Hong Kong Alliance, behind an annual vigil to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests on June 4, 1989. Chow Hang-tung, the vice-chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and three committee members � Simon Leung, Sean Tang and Chan To-wai � are being held at separate police stations, according to reports.

"Today's arrests of members of the Hong Kong Alliance are another chilling demonstration of how the National Security Law is being used by Beijing to dismantle civil society and stifle political dissent in Hong Kong," Raab tweeted.

On June 30, 2020, China introduced the National Security Law in Hong Kong in response to massive pro-democracy protests that swept through the city the previous year. Under the law, subversion, secession, cooperation with foreign forces, and terrorist acts are all prohibited, with each violation carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.