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China The Economist April 25th 2020 33
Politics in Hong Kong frontations with the police. If peaceful old
men like him are being arrested, many
The long arm of Beijing Hong Kongers worry, the Communist Party
must be pressing the territory’s govern-
ment to cast the net wider. Mr Lee has been
an outspoken critic of the party since long
before the British withdrawal in 1997.
After being freed on bail, Mr Lee said he
HONG KONG was proud. “Over the months and years,
Democrats are detained; a hole is carved in the Basic Law
I’ve felt bad to see so many outstanding
nnouncing the biggest shake-up of shock as the one on April 18th, during youngsters being arrested and prosecuted,
Aher cabinet since an explosion of un- which 15 of Hong Kong’s best-known cam- but I was not charged,” he told reporters. Mr
rest last year, Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie paigners for democracy were charged with Lee and Margaret Ng, another elderly bar-
Lam, tried to sound confident. A major goal promoting, organising and joining illegal rister and former legislator, were among
of the reshuffle on April 22nd, she said, was demonstrations. Among them were Martin nine who have been accused of “organis-
to “help Hong Kong get out of this difficult Lee, a barrister and former legislator who is ing” and “knowingly participating in” a
situation as soon as possible”. often called the “father” of Hong Kong’s huge illegal march on August 18th. Police
She was referring to the economic crisis pro-democracy movement, and Jimmy Lai had given approval, but only for a small ral-
caused by covid-19. But Hong Kongers have (pictured), the publisher of Apple Daily, a ly in a park. All 15 are out on bail. They are
political worries, too. In recent days several popular pro-democracy tabloid. due to appear in court on May 18th.
prominent democrats have been arrested, Last year’s protests mainly involved In response to suggestions that those
and the central government has rejected young people acting without any formal arrested had been singled out unfairly,
what had been widely regarded as a consti- leadership. Some of them turned to vio- Hong Kong’s security bureau insisted that
tutional restraint on its behaviour in Hong lence, throwing petrol bombs and vandal- everyone was “equal before the law”. But
Kong. Political turmoil—which had ap- ising property. Mr Lee, however, is 81 and a the simultaneous targeting of so many
peared to ebb in recent weeks—looks set to moderate who, like many veteran demo- well-known figures, including several oth-
flare anew. The changes to Ms Lam’s team crats, largely remained aloof from the un- er former legislators, showed that this was
will not reduce tensions. rest—sympathising with the protesters’ an unusual operation. Some, like Mr Lee
Since June 2019, when protests erupted motives but not encouraging their con- and Ms Ng, had never been charged before.
over a since-abandoned extradition law, The protests have died down since Janu-
more than 7,000 people have been arrested Also in this section ary, not least as a result of covid-19. But,
for taking part in the riots and unautho- with the number of new infections down to
rised demonstrations that roiled the terri- 34 Changing chopstick customs a handful of imported cases each day, the
tory for the rest of the year. But no 35 Chaguan: The age of consent authorities worry about the possibility of
round-up by the police has caused as much renewed unrest as normal life resumes. 1
