Hong Kong Bans Pro-Independence Party in Unprecedented Decision
- Government says party could use force to achieve its goals
- Ban fuels concerns city is clamping down on opposition groups
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Hong Kong’s government issued an unprecedented ban against a pro-independence political party that it has called a risk to national security, raising concerns over tolerance of dissent in the Asian financial hub.
“The Hong Kong National Party has a very clear agenda to achieve its goal of Hong Kong being made an independent republic,” John Lee, the city’s security secretary, said at a briefing on Monday. The party could use force to achieve its goal and had spread “hatred and discrimination” against Chinese visitors to Hong Kong, he said.