Hong Kong will postpone Legislative Council elections originally scheduled for Sept. 6 by one year, citing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. In making the announcement July 31, Chief Executive Carrie Lam invoked the city's Emergency Regulations Ordinance. (HKFP [16], RTHK [17]) But Beijing's political imperatives are pretty clearly behind the decision. This was acknowledged by Lau Siu-kai [18], vice president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macau Studies, Beijing's own leading think-tank on the semi-autonomous territories. Framing the issue in Great Power terms, Lau said that "the serious international situation between the United States and China...prompts Beijing into doing something to prevent the hostile forces from taking over LegCo and to make sure that the national security is safeguarded." (RTHK [19])
Postponement of the elections comes after several opposition candidates had been barred from running. Hours before Lam made her announcement, prominent dissident Joshua Wong [20] pledged that he and other banned candidates would carry on the struggle. "Our resistance will continue on and we hope the world can stand with us in the upcoming uphill battle," he told reporters. (HKFP [21])
Two days before the announcement, Hong Kong police rounded up four former members of pro-independence group Studentlocalism [20]—aged 16 to 21—on suspicion of "inciting secession" under the new National Security Law [20]. The group's ex-convenor Tony Chung, 19, became the first prominent political figure to be arrested under the controversial law. He and the others had recently disbanded the group in response to passage of the legislation. (HKFP [22])
Hong Kong police have also issued arrest warrants for six pro-democracy activists living in exile—the first time the city's authorities have used the National Security Law to target persons living outside the territory. The targeted dissidents include Samuel Chu, a US citizen who runs the DC-based Hong Kong Democracy Council [23]; Nathan Law [20], a prominent opposition figure who recently relocated to the UK after fleeing Hong Kong; and Simon Cheng, a former British consulate employee who was granted asylum in the UK after claiming he was tortured in China. (The Guardian [24], HKFP [25])