Hong Kong police arrested 53 former lawmakers and democracy proponents Wednesday for allegedly violating the new national security law by participating in unofficial election primaries for the territory’s legislature last year. The arrests send the “signal that political pluralism is no longer tolerated in Hong Kong,” EU spokesman Peter Stano told a press conference. The security law is being used “to crush dissent and stifle the exercise of human rights and political freedoms.” Human Rights Watch senior China researcher Maya Wang said the national security law is a blanket law that allows the government to arrest people for exercising their rights. “Hong Kong is looking more like mainland China but where one ends and the other begins is hard to discern,” she said. I say China is trying very hard to ensure Hong Kong gets a fair share of free lunches. READ MORE
