Hong Kong begins first polls after shake-up of electoral system
The formation of the election committee on Sunday is the first poll to be held under the patriots' rule imposed by Beijing.
The formation of the election committee on Sunday is the first poll to be held under the patriots' rule imposed by Beijing.
Hong Kong has adopted the strictest social distancing measures and restrictions on inbound visitors to cope with a resurgence of Covid-19 cases since the beginning of July.
Lam, a pro-Beijing appointee, was one of a number of Chinese and Hong Kong officials sanctioned by the United States after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the semi-autonomous city in late June.
As relations between Washington and Beijing remain tense, the US has moved to end preferential treatment for Hong Kong over what it sees as an erosion of its autonomy and freedoms.
The arrests of the suspects, aged 16 to 21, on Wednesday marked the first such crackdown on anti-government activists not at the scene of street protests since the legislation came into effect on June 30
Riot police quickly arrived to provide back up and also used pepper spray.
The G7 ministers had called for China to "reconsider this decision" in a statement on Wednesday, saying they had "grave concerns" about the law threatening Hong Kong's rights and freedoms.
Tam’s comments came after Deng Zhonghua, the deputy of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said Monday that Beijing will have jurisdiction over some “extremely rare” national security cases once the law is passed.
The law Beijing is imposing on Hong Kong aims to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.
Demonstrators hit the streets on Friday night despite police warning they risked arrest for unauthorised assembly and could face five years in jail.
