The demonstrators wanted to denounce the imprisonment of political activists on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, accusing the Chinese authorities of using the Olympics as a diplomatic screen.
Koo Sze-yiu, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, was arrested on Friday for ‘inciting subversion’ ahead of a scheduled protest against the holding of the Olympics in Beijing, hours before the opening ceremony
A few days before this arrest, an invitation bearing Mr. Koo’s name had been sent to the media to warn of a demonstration on Friday in front of the Beijing Liaison Office, the central government’s representation in Hong Kong. “Numerous political activists and citizens from Hong Kong were thrown in jail and cannot spend Lunar New Year with their families due to abuses of Hong Kong’s national security lawsays the invitation dated January 31. The central government only cares about hosting the Winter Olympics to cover up the situation and doesn’t care about miscarriages of justice in Hong Kong.”.
Koo Sze-yiu could not be reached to confirm that he had organized the protest, which was to be held at 10 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT) on Friday morning. The 70-year-old activist, who has terminal cancer, has served several stints in prison, including in 2013 for burning a Chinese flag to protest the treatment of dissidents in mainland China.
Protests have been virtually banned in Hong Kong since the 2019 unrest. The National Security Law, which came into force in 2020, punishes “secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces” with penalties of up to to life imprisonment.