Hong Kong protesters defy ban and repression
On Sept. 6, the day Hong Kong's Legislative Council elections were originally scheduled before being postponed under pandemic emergency measures, hundreds of protesters defied a ban on street demonstrations to march in opposition to the postponement and the new National Security Law. Some 300 were arrested, and police fired tear-gas and pepperballs to disperse the crowd in Yau Tsim Mong district of Kowloon. (HKFP) Two days earlier, the UN special rapporteur for Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights Protection, Fionnuala Ni Aolain, and six other UN experts jointly sent a letter to the Chinese government stating that the National Security Law "infringes certain fundamental rights," and expressing concern that the law may be used to prosecute political dissidents in Hong Kong. (Communal News)
Hong Kong judge resigns over national security law
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal judge James Spigelman, an Australian national, resigned on Sept. 18 due to concerns over Beijing's new national security law. Without offering details, Spigelman said he will step down for reasons "related to the content of the national security legislation." (Jurist)
Hong Kong: mass arrests on China National Day
Riot police in Hong Kong arrested at least 86 people on Oct. 1 during planned protests against Beijing during China's National Day celebrations. According to a Hong Kong Police Force press release, protestors gathered in Causeway Bay and other areas chanting slogans such as "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" and blocking roads despite police warnings. (Jurist)