Canada Condemns Arrest of Over 50 Hong Kong Dissidents, Calls for Their ‘Immediate Release’

(L-R) Pro-democracy activists Eddie Chu, Gwyneth Ho, Leung Hoi-ching, Tiffany Yuen, Joshua Wong, Lester Shum, and Agnes Chow campaign during primary elections in Hong Kong on July 12, 2020. Issac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images

Canada is calling for the immediate release of 53 pro-democracy figures who were arrested in Hong Kong Wednesday after being accused of violating Beijing’s new national security law, specifically on charges of subversion of state power.

The mass arrests include pro-democracy activists, former lawmakers, and politicians—the largest crackdown on the city’s opposition camp since the draconian security law went into effect on June 30, 2020.