Hong Kong police arrest pro-democracy activists in widening crackdown

By Dilip -

NB: This is not surprising, because the Chinese Communist Party has a long history of suppressing freedom of speech and opinion. Let us note however, the statement of the RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat: China has risen and doesn't care what the world thinks of it. Let us also note that the CEO of Niti Aayog believes that Indian democracy makes 'hard reforms' difficult. It's difficult to imagine that the RSS's dreams of 'greatness' and the economists' dreams of 'hard reforms' would ever adversely affect the status, power and incomes of these men who claim to know best what is good for us. Their ideologically driven agenda has two components, religious divisiveness for manipulation of mass sentiment; and use of state power for the benefit of monopoly capitalists on the other. The so-called Sangh Parivar is a delivery vehicle for corporate capital. They would like to see democracy demolished in order to realise their dreams of 'hard reforms' and great-power status. This is why they envy the totalitarian dictatorship of the People's Republic of China. DS

Hong Kong police arrest pro-democracy activists in widening crackdown

Eight pro-democracy activists were arrested in Hong Kong on Tuesday as authorities continue a crackdown on dissent under a new security law imposed by Beijing. The eight, who include three former lawmakers, were detained for their role in a protest against the security law on July 1. They could face a maximum of five years in prison. The ex-lawmakers who were arrested are Wu Chi-wai, the former chief of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, Eddie Chu and Leun Kwok Hung.

The national security law was imposed by China in Hong Kong on June 30 in a bid to crack down on dissent in the former British territory after months of mass protests last year. The vaguely worded law is seen by critics as an attempt by Beijing to curb the rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed to the territory when Britain handed it back to Chinese rule in 1997. A number of activists have been recently arrested and some jailed under the law. Notably, leading dissident Joshua Wong and two other major figures in the activist scene were sent to prison last week over their involvement in a rally outside police headquarters in 2019….

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/hong-kong-police-arrest-pro-democracy-activists-widening-crackdown-7096673/

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