STREET LEVEL

Thousands Take to Streets of Hong Kong to Protest China’s National Security Plans

Police fired tear gas at thousands of masked protesters who marched in Hong Kong against China’s proposed tough national security legislation that threatens the city’s autonomy.

Hong Kong police volleyed tear gas at thousands of protesters—marching against China’s proposed national security laws—in the city’s popular shopping district on Sunday, marking a resurgence of protests that dominated the city before the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro-democracy supporters warn that the new legislation threatens the semi-autonomous territory and its “one country, two system” framework. The bill was introduced by China on Friday and is expected to pass into law on May 28. It will allow Chinese agents to set up agencies in Hong Kong from which they could arrest people for activities deemed to be “pro-democracy.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called China’s action, “a death knell for the high degree of autonomy” that Beijing had promised Hong Kong since the U.K. handed the city over in 1997.