Lawyer, others arrested under Hong Kong s new security law

World

Hong Kong national security police on Thursday arrested a lawyer and 10 others on suspicion of helping 12 Hong Kongers try to flee the city, local media reported in the latest arrests in an ongoing crackdown on dissent.

The fresh wave of arrests comes a week after police arrested 55 pro-democracy activists under the new national security law, the largest move against Hong Kong s democracy movement since the law was imposed by Beijing last June to quell dissent in the semi-autonomous territory.

Recent arrests have intensified concerns that Beijing is asserting more control over the city, drawing criticism that it was breaking its promise of Hong Kong maintaining separate civil rights and political systems for 50 years from the handover from Britain in 1997.

Police arrested eight men and three women aged 18 to 72 for "assisting offenders," according to the South China Morning Post, which cited unnamed sources.

Police did not immediately comment on the arrests.