By Reuters Staff
April 21 (Reuters) - On March 23, a Hong Kong High Court judge denied former Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan s bail appeal and sent him back to Lai Chi Kok prison. Keep going! Wan shouted as he was led away by guards. The Department of Justice will be judged by heaven.
Wan is one of 36 pro-democracy activists denied bail and being kept in custody more than a month after being arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion for organizing an unofficial primary election. Forty-seven activists were charged overall, in the biggest crackdown on the city s opposition since a national security law was imposed by China last June. Only 11 have been granted bail. The next appearance in court for all the defendants is scheduled for May 31.
Hong Kong’s Election Overhaul in Context
Hong Kongers protest the extradition bill in June 2019. (Studio Incendo, https://flic.kr/p/2gf6Ndr; CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
On March 30, Chinese lawmakers passed legislation that will dramatically overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system. That legislation which takes the form of amendments to Hong Kong’s Basic Law does not stand alone: It appears to be the third in a recent raft of laws that consolidate Beijing’s control over Hong Kong, formally a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
To better understand the election amendments and their potential effects, it’s important to understand both the current context and prior developments that have led to the legislation’s adoption.
China aumenta represión a opositores en Hong Kong laestrella.com.pa - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from laestrella.com.pa Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A group of 11 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists accused of subversion will stay in jail for at least another five days while judges consider whether to release them on bail, a court said Saturday. The group, which includes three former legislators, will have hearings Thursday and on March 13, the High Court said. A court agreed this week to release them but prosecutors appealed the decision. They are among 47 people who were charged under a national security law imposed on the Chinese territory last year by the ruling Communist Party after pro-democracy protests. They were arrested after opposition groups held an unofficial vote last year to pick candidates for elections to the territory s Legislative Council.
Hong Kong court adjourns hearing for democracy activists charged with subversion reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.