Police have fined more than 700 people in Hong Kong since late March for violating the region’s Chinese coronavirus lockdown measures by participating in long-running pro-democracy demonstrations against Chinese repression.
According to a report from local media outlet HKO1 published Monday, local police have issued 705 tickets of a fixed fine of 2,000 Hong Kong dollars ($258 USD) to those found guilty of violating the restrictions. The government has also made 14 prosecutions in relation to social distancing violations.
The fines come after the Hong Kong government, largely controlled by Beijing, announced a ban in March on public gatherings of more than four people in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. At the time of the ban, the city was experiencing a small spike in infections as residents returned home from other coronavirus hotspots such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
Many people remain suspicious about the motivations behind the plan, with many seeing it as an opportunity for China to crack down on the mass pro-democracy demonstrations that have taken place across the city over the past year in response to China’s increasing interference in the region. The most recent example of this has been the passage of a “national security” law in Beijing specifically affecting Hong Kong, effectively criminalizing any activities seen as undermining Beijing’s total authority.
In May, the ban was extended but the limit was raised from four to eight people. Authorities will expand that limit to 50 people by Friday. The restrictions conveniently covered the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, an event millions of Hong Kongers commemorate with a candlelight vigil annually. Nevertheless, thousands of people flooded the streets to mark the event, which led to the deaths of thousands of student protesters demanding democratic reform in the communist-controlled country.
Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam and the city’s top health official have repeatedly denied claims that they have extended the ban on gatherings for political reasons. On Tuesday, the Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan insisted the decision was based solely on health considerations.
“We have always adopted this ‘suppress and lift’ strategy. On the one hand, we want to strike a balance between public health protection, [the] economic impact as well as social acceptance,” she said. “Our consideration is that now the general situation of the epidemic is relatively stable … we are trying to do more testing so we can understand more about the community situation.”
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.