Hong Kong opposition camp slams arrest of seven lawmakers, accusing government of trying to stir up chaos so they can cancel district council elections

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip dismisses claim, saying there is no link between arrests and elections

Three pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested overnight while another four were informed that they would be arrested

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Legislator Abraham Razack is surrounded by other lawmakers on May 11. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 12:40pm, 9 Nov 2019Updated: 2:42am, 10 Nov 2019

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp has said the arrests of seven lawmakers will stir up renewed chaos ahead of the district council elections and accused the government of paving the way to cancel the polls.

But Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen on Saturday said the arrests had nothing to do with the elections and reiterated that the government would do its best to hold the polls as scheduled on November 24.

“We will closely monitor developments. We truly hope, with all our hearts, that such an important election can be held peacefully and in an orderly fashion,” Nip said.

“There is no correlation between the [arrests and the elections]. The police are doing their job and investigating each and every case, and will take appropriate action when ready.”

He admitted the move could fuel more discontent, but urged the public not to read too much into the arrests, adding that his bureau had not been aware of the police action beforehand.