Hong Kong authorities formally banned on Monday a group promoting independence from China – the first outlawing of a political organisation since Britain handed its former colony back to Chinese rule in 1997.
Jeffie Lam, a journalist with the South China Morning Post newspaper, said on Twitter the decision by the city’s security chief John Lee came just 10 days after Chan’s party submitted a reply, arguing why it should not be outlawed.
In July cop sought to ban the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), a famous but small group with a core membership of around a dozen, which wants the city’s independence from China.
Rights groups and Britain’s foreign office criticised the attempt. They said Hong Kong’s rights must be respected.
Hong Kong is governed under a “one country, two systems” principle which allows the global financial hub a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in China, including an independent legal system and freedoms of speech and assembly.
Local government efforts to find ways of cracking down on the independence movement follows a warning last fall from President Xi Xinping during a visit to the city that any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty crossed a “red line”. China’s perceived tightening grip over the city has stoked tensions in recent years, including the “Occupy Central” movement in 2014 that blocked major roads for approximately three months in a failed bid to pressure Beijing to permit full democracy.
>Shiuly Rina
