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image copyrightReuters
image captionVeteran campaigner Benny Tai reports to police. He said his chances of bail were not too great
Police in Hong Kong have charged 47 activists with subversion , in the largest use yet of the territory s controversial security law.
Beijing enforced the law criminalising subversive acts last year, saying it was needed to bring stability.
Critics say it has silenced dissent and stripped Hong Kong of its autonomy.
The law came into force after a series of mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, some of which turned violent.
image copyrightReuters
image captionHundreds of people gathered on Monday to show support for the pro-democracy activists
Sunday, 28 Feb 2021 08:39 PM MYT
Pro-democracy activists Helena Wong Pik-wan (2nd left) and Jimmy Sham (2nd right) speak to the media as they arrive to report to the police station over national security law charges, in Hong Kong February 28, 2021. Reuters pic
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HONG KONG, Feb 28 Forty-seven Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners and activists were charged today with conspiracy to commit subversion in the largest single crackdown on the opposition under a China-imposed national security law.
Among them was Sam Cheung, a 27-year-old activist and a participant in an unofficial primary election last summer, who was charged after reporting to a local police station.
Dozens of anti-govt figures in HK charged, sounding deterrence ahead of reform
Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi Published: Feb 28, 2021 09:26 PM
Photo taken on July 1, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square after a flag-raising ceremony held by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Hong Kong. (Photo: Xinhua)
On Sunday, 47 anti-government figures in Hong Kong including local scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting were formally charged with conspiring to subvert state power, as the imminent electoral reform in Hong Kong to ensure the city s political system meets the principle that only patriots govern Hong Kong is expected to become a major focus of the upcoming two sessions. The reform will fix the loopholes in the city s political system.