Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries organiser steps down amid pressure from Beijing

Au Nok-hin, one of the organisers of the pro-democracy primaries in Hong Kong on July 15 said that he was withdrawing from primary election duties immediately due to accusation of subversion from Liaison Office and Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. Beijing said that the primary election may violate the new national security law of Hong Kong that was recently passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. Au Nok-hin announced his withdrawal in a Facebook post on Wednesday, where he said that it was a hard decision for him to make and also apologised for it. 

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"I hereby withdraw 35+ primary election duties immediately due to the accusation from the Liaison Office and Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office recently. Even the democratic camp has been emphasized repeatedly that the primary election is legal, the ruling coalition seems to insist on another unexpecting view which is creating a risk of personal safety. Withdrawal is the only choice that I can protect myself and others," Au Nok-hin said in the post. 

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Beijing-backed Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has also said that the primaries could violate the new security law. Another organiser of the primaries Benny Tai said that the election is in line with democratic values and for those who do not recognise democracy, it is difficult to make them understand the meaning of it, taking a jibe at the mainland. According to reports, the weekend poll for the primaries saw more than 6,00,000 people vote, which may have made Beijing nervous sparking reaction against it. 

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China passes Security Law

The new security law against which people have been protesting for months was signed into effect on June 30 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The new national security law gives sweeping powers to Beijing in Hong Kong's internal affairs that critics argue will further suffocate the freedoms enjoyed by the residents of the former British colony. New local police and prosecution units have been set-up to make sure the law is implemented. Carrie Lam now enjoys the power to appoint judges to hear cases related to the new security law. Carrie Lam had earlier said that the new law would not affect innocent people as it is only meant for secessionist forces. 

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