National security law: thousands of protesters return to Hong Kong streets, openly defying ban on July 1 rally

Name: Hong Kong Police officer stabbed in the arm
Uploaded: 2020-07-01T15:52:34.000Z
Duration: 1 min 11 s
Description: Hong Kong Police officer stabbed in the arm

At least 10 people – six men and four women – become the first to be arrested by police exercising their new powers under the contentious legislation

Although roads are blocked, and radicals set fires, vandalise shops and attack police, chaos is not on the scale of last year’s violent unrest

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Police brought out for the first time a new, purple flag warning against breaking the national security law. Photo: Sam Tsang

SCMP Reporters

Published: 11:52pm, 1 Jul 2020Updated: 4:23pm, 3 Jul 2020

Thousands of protesters returned to Hong Kong streets on Wednesday, openly defying a ban on the annual July 1 rally to oppose Beijing’s newly imposed national security law.

At least 10 people – six men and four women – became the first to be arrested by police exercising their new powers under the contentious legislation, which took effect at 11pm on Tuesday.

Several of them were carrying materials calling for “Hong Kong independence”, including a 15-year-old girl waving a flag.

They were among about 370 people detained mainly for participating in illegal assemblies, disorderly conduct and possession of offensive weapons.

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Hong Kong Police officer stabbed in the arm

While protesters blocked roads and radicals among them set fires, vandalised shops and attacked police, the chaos was not on the scale of last year’s violent protests, and the majority mostly played cat and mouse with officers across Causeway Bay and Wan Chai.

Police said at least four officers were injured after coming under attack by radicals. One of them was assaulted by a mob when he became separated from his colleagues while chasing a suspect near Victoria Park.