from ZeroHedge:

Update (0915ET): According to Reuters, the number of Hong Kongers arrested during Wednesday’s protest has climbed to roughly 200, up from the 2 arrests we reported earlier.

Police arrested nearly 200 people on Wednesday as protesters took to the streets in defiance of sweeping security legislation, the details of which were revealed late last night as President Xi signed it into law. Wednesday’s gathering happens to coincide with an annual rally marking the anniversary of HK’s handover to China in 1997, a fitting backdrop as Hong Kongers express their preference for the values of the British.

Officials had cancelled the annual rally due to the coronavirus, but tens of thousands came out anyway, including thousands of young people and students.

“I’m scared of going to jail but for justice I have to come out today, I have to stand up,” said one 35-year-old man who gave his name as Seth.

Earlier on Wednesday, police cited the law for the first time as they confronted the protesters.

“You are displaying flags or banners/chanting slogans/or conducting yourselves with an intent such as secession or subversion, which may constitute offences under the…national security law,” police said.

Police shared photos with an officer with a bleeding arm saying he was stabbed by “rioters holding sharp objects.”

Meanwhile, in Beijing, Zhang Xiaoming, executive deputy director of Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told reporters that the suspects arrest today could be tried on the mainland (though he stopped short of declaring that this would definitely happen). He also described the new security law as a “birthday gift” to Hong Kong.

Update (0700ET): SCMP reports that British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has just finished outlining a plan to allow Hong Kongers to relocate to the UK and become British citizens.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has started laying out a lawyerly assessment over China's national security law for Hong Kong now

— Stuart Lau (@stuartlauscmp) July 1, 2020

Dominic Raab has confirmed the procedure for BNO holders to acquire British citizenship:

1. 5 years limited right to remain.
2. After 5 years, they can apply for settled status.
3. After 12 months of settled status, they can apply for British citizenship.

No quotas on numbers

— Stuart Lau (@stuartlauscmp) July 1, 2020

We imagine Beijing won’t be thrilled about this, either.

* * *

At least two people were arrested Wednesday as Hong Kong protesters, undaunted by the new penalties they might face, clashed with police, with some proudly carrying the flag of Hong Kong independence despite the tremendous personal risks: Under the new security law, brandishing pro-independence material could lead to arrest and prosecution with stiff prison sentences.

One day after President Xi signed the new National Security law, officially overriding part of the Hong Kong Basic Law via a loophole in the quasi-constitution left behind by the British, Hong Kongers are on the edge of open revolt, as the drop in COVID-19 cases has emboldened more to return to the streets, despite the legal risks.

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