On Saturday, Hong Kong police arrest 14 pro-democracy activists in response to the city’s pro-democracy protest movement that was at its peak before the COVID-19 outbreak. The arrests come as the region is still racked by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, pro-democracy activists have stated that they do not plan to conduct demonstrations in the streets to protest the arrests, stating that instead, they will likely use the Hong Kong police’s move to rejuvenate previously held public momentum against Beijing.
on Friday, China’s top office in Hong Kong stated that it is not bound by Hong Kong’s legal restrictions against Beijing’s intervention in its local affairs. Jimmy Lai, a well-known media tycoon, and the founder of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, Martin Lee, were among the 14 arrested. The charges include unlawful assemblies on three separate occasions last year.