Lawmakers Hail Mass National Security Arrests

Lawmakers on Wednesday hailed the police move to arrest scores of pro-democracy politicians and activists, claiming last year's primary polls were clearly a violation of the national security law.

One of the remaining members of the opposition-less Legislative Council, Alice Mak, said the police move was based on evidence and had a sound legal basis.

She cited an article that poll organiser Benny Tai published in April last year, saying the legal scholar had set out his goal for the camp to win a majority in Legco as part of a wider plot aimed at eventually "subverting the country".

"According to their plans, their ultimate goal is to cause foreign sanctions against our nation, and one of their means is to reject the budget", the Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker said.

"According to the Basic Law, when the budget is rejected by this council twice, the chief executive has to resign, and this will cause a vacuum in our administration, and this ultimately will drag the development and may overthrow the sovereignty and the powers of the Hong Kong SAR."

Meanwhile, DAB lawmaker Holden Chow said the primaries were a clear breach of the national security law, because they had the aim of trying to “remove the central government’s sovereignty from Hong Kong, destroy one country, two systems, and paralyse the functioning of the Hong Kong SAR government”.

However, he added that he doesn’t think those who voted in the primaries had breached the law, saying “it’s only those who orchestrate, candidates who joined these primaries, who are against the national security law".

The New People’s Party said in a statement that if the primaries were part of a plan to “burn together” or “undermine the organs of power”, then it could see how those involved could be guilty of committing an offence under the national security law.

______________________________