Timeline of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests (August 2020)
August events of the 2019–2020 pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The month of August 2020 in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests saw only sparse and relatively small protests, mainly due to the city going through a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and an outdoor gathering ban on groups of more than two people.[1] As the impact of the Hong Kong National Security Law on the city became increasingly evident, and additionally in response to acts by representatives of the local and mainland governments throughout the protests, Western democracies continued to voice sharp criticism and implemented sanctions against China, with the United States imposing sanctions on 11 Hong Kong officials on 7 August. These developments supported the opinion expressed by former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind in late June that the protests had morphed from a mostly local dispute into an international one.[2]
The arrest of Apple Daily proprietor Jimmy Lai on 10 August was seen by representatives of Western democracies and many observers as a violation of journalistic freedom.[3] The arrest of pro-democracy politician and activist Agnes Chow on the same day fueled concerns that the National Security Law would, contrary to its Article 39, be applied retroactively. Concerns about opaque mainland laws taking precedence over Hong Kong's traditional legal procedures rose further after the mainland Chinese coastguard foiled an attempted escape of twelve people, including several activists, to Taiwan on 23 August. The twelve were detained across the Hong Kong border in Shenzhen, with no substantial further information about them transpiring well into September.