The Chinese government has began to arrest leaders in the protests taking place in Hong Kong according to a report:
Just minutes after the arrest of Joshua Wong (as we detailed below), Andy Chan, the leader of the banned pro-independence Hong Kong National Party, has reportedly been detained whilst trying to board a flight to Japan.
A police spokesperson told HKFP that Chan was arrested on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer. The Organized Crime And Triad Bureau are investigating.
As we detailed earlier, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been arrested ahead of this weekend’s planned protests throughout the city, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.
According to his colleague, Nathan Law, Wong was forced into a private vehicle at 7:30 a.m. on the street and escorted to the Wan Chai police headquarters. According to Law, Wong is being held on three yet-unknown charges, and is being represented by attorneys.
Demosistō
@demosisto
BREAKING: Our secretary-general @joshuawongcf was just arrested this morning at roughly 7:30, when he was walking to the South Horizons MTR station. He was forcefully pushed into a private minivan on the street in broad daylight. Our lawyers following the case now.
The arrest of Wong – who was released from prison on June 17 after serving a five-week sentence related to the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement – comes hours after pro-independence leader Andy Chan was arrested at the airport.
Wong was the face of those 2014 protests which paralyzed parts of Hong Kong for 79 days.
The Hong Kong protests began in mid-June in response to a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed China to transport suspects to the mainland for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts, according to US News.
Much like the Yellow Vest movement in France, the initial grievance has evolved into a broad anti-government movement every weekend since it began. In early June, 1.3 million residents took to the streets.
While the protests have been largely peaceful, each weekend has been marked with clashes between a more violent subset of protesters and Hong Kong riot police – who have deployed tear gas, batons, water canons and other crowd-control measures.
Beijing’s patience, meanwhile, may be running out – as Chinese troops and armored trucks were seen entering Hong Kong in the “wee hours of Thursday” under the pretext of a “planned garrison rotation.”
People’s Daily, China
@PDChina
The #HongKong Garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted the 22nd rotation of its members in the wee hours of Thursday since it began garrisoning Hong Kong in 1997.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how this weekend’s protests go now that key organizers have been arrested and the threat of direct – and possibly deadly Chinese intervention looms. (source, source)
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