London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

China plans further Hong Kong crackdown after mass arrest

China plans further Hong Kong crackdown after mass arrest

Beijing also considering changes to the electoral system, in an effort to further curtail the influence of the territory’s Democrats.

The arrest of more than 50 Democrats in Hong Kong last week intensifies a drive by Beijing to stifle any return of a populist challenge to Chinese rule and more measures are likely, two individuals with direct knowledge of China’s plans told the Reuters news agency.

While stressing that plans had not been finalised, the individuals said it was possible that Hong Kong elections – already postponed until September on coronavirus grounds – could face reforms that one person said were aimed at reducing the influence of Democrats.

Both individuals, who have extensive high-level experience in Hong Kong affairs and represent Beijing’s interests, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Beijing’s involvement was “substantial” in driving and coordinating actions with the Hong Kong government, said one of the individuals, a senior Chinese official.

He told Reuters the latest arrests were part of a wave of ongoing actions to silence activists and to “make sure Hong Kong doesn’t slide back to what we saw 18 months ago,” when enormous demonstrations marked the boldest public revolt against China’s leaders since the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing in 1989.

China has been “too patient for too long, and needs to sort things out once and for all,” he added, saying more tough moves would be rolled out for “at least a year”.

A spokesman for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the implementation of a national security law last June had restored stability and reduced street violence.

“The legitimate rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong have been upheld and criminals are brought to justice through our independent judiciary,” he said in an emailed response to Reuters, without responding to questions about Beijing’s role.

Political shake up


Hong Kong elections were scheduled for September 5 and officials were working to ensure an open, fair and honest poll, he added.

The Chinese government did not respond to requests for comment.

The Chinese official said Beijing remained concerned the opposition could still muster a majority in the legislature should the polls go ahead, given a lingering groundswell of public support.

Chinese officials were now discussing ways to change the electoral system to address “deficiencies” in the political structure, he said and elections might be further delayed.

The second pro-Beijing source confirmed there were advanced talks on structural changes to Hong Kong’s political system, including possibly curtailing the influence of Democrats on a 1,200-person election committee to select Hong Kong’s next leader in 2022.

“It will likely shake up the whole political base,” the source said of the reforms.

Lam’s spokesman said authorities were exploring using electronic polling and setting up polling and counting stations in mainland China to allow registered electors there to vote.


Pro-democracy activist Lester Shum was among the dozens of opposition politicians and activists taken away on January 6 by police officers under the new security law


Democrats worried


Any changes to electoral laws to further isolate the opposition would now be procedurally guaranteed with the legislature now controlled by pro-Beijing politicians following a mass resignation of Democrats from the legislature last November.

Since the new security law was introduced, authorities have arrested 93 opposition figures under the legislation, frozen activists’ assets, confiscated phones, computers and travel documents, disqualified some legislators and clamped down on the media. Hundreds have fled into exile.

Six senior democratic figures interviewed by Reuters voiced fears over what they described as a grim outlook since the most recent arrests.

Among the next steps authorities could focus on, they said, are disqualifying hundreds of democratic “district councillors” who dominate the grassroots political arena; entrenching loyalty to China within the civil service; squeezing businesses whose bosses explicitly support the democratic cause; and the creeping censorship of the internet and media under the auspices of national security.

Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong have repeatedly said the security law will only target a small minority of “troublemakers”.

‘Harsh winter’


Beijing denies curbing rights and freedoms in the territory of 7.6 million and has opposed criticism of the arrests since the imposition of the security law as “grave interference in China’s sovereignty and domestic affairs”.

“Hong Kong has entered a harsh winter,” said Benny Tai, a former law professor who has been a key strategist for the camp, who was arrested in last week’s crackdown. “The wind is blowing fierce and cold.”

When the city was returned to Chinese rule by the British in 1997, China’s leaders agreed in a mini-constitution to grant the city a high degree of autonomy and wide-ranging freedoms not allowed in mainland China including free speech, assembly and eventual full democracy.

Yam Kai-bong, a Tai Po district councillor with the localist pro-democracy Neo Democrats, said the spectre of protracted legal proceedings related to the arrests could scare off or weaken the opposition camp’s chances in any upcoming election.

“It’s very clear that the authorities, this time, want to cast one net to capture all those who may have been planning to contest the upcoming elections – if they even take place – and to make it very difficult for them to run.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×