Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam postponed the Sept. 6 election for seats in the Asian financial hub’s Legislative Council for a year in July because of a spike in coronavirus cases. Thousands of police were stationed around the bustling Kowloon peninsula as marchers waved placards and chanted popular anti-government slogans such as “liberate Hong Kong”.These slogans are now banned under the new security law. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a guarantee of autonomy but critics say the new law undermines that promise and puts the territory on a more authoritarian path. Advocates of the law say it plugs loopholes in national security left by the city’s inability to fulfil a constitutional requirement to pass such laws on its own. Hong Kong has reported around 4,800 coronavirus cases since January, far lower than in other major cities around the world.

Source: bd News24 September 06, 2020 09:33 UTC