Hundreds of protesters held on Sunday a silent march against Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong. At least 53 people were arrested for unlawful assembly, including two district councilors and a father who was shopping with his wife and son. The young child broke into tears as he watched his father taken away.

Accusing protesters of “disrupting the peace in society”, police set up cordon lines on the main streets in Mong Kok and arrested dozens of citizens.

Online news outlets Flash Media Hong Kong and Studio Incendo reported that police conducted a stop and search at the intersection of Nathan Road and Dundas Street, and arrested dozens, including a father of a young boy. At 5:30pm, the family of three was caught in riot police’s mass kettling operation on Nathan Road and separated by the cordon line. The son, who witnessed the arrest of his father, melted into tears and had to be comforted by his mother. She held her son up to wave goodbye through the car window as the father was taken in a police vehicle.

The mother later asked after her husband, but to little avail. She was completely ignored when she offered to provide footage from the car’s camera, which could prove the family was shopping together. The wife remained emotional when she was interviewed. “We were only shopping at the time. We stopped by the fruit market to get some fruits, and walked by to get drinks,” said the mother, who was still holding a slushy drink as she spoke.

She questioned the legitimacy of the arrest, “Why not arrest the two of us as well?”

Those arrested, including her husband, district councilors Ben Lam and Andy Tsui, were taken to Hung Hom police station and have now been released.

Among those detained were passersby, including elderly. When informed of being arrested, one shouted, “Is walking on the streets also a crime?” Others held up the hand gesture that symbolized the protest slogan “Five demands, not one less”.

Besides mass arrest, police also stopped and searched random passersby, including two boys holding shopping bags. The netizen who witnessed the scene described: “The clothes in the bags were newly bought. But they still had to be searched. Hong Kong is now worse than China or any other place.”

Click here for Chinese version.

---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app
To know more: https://bit.ly/2yMMfQE
Apple Daily mobile app latest version DOWNLOAD NOW