Police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters who gathered Sunday against a controversial security law proposed by China, in the most intense clashes for months.

As the demonstrators and police were facing off in the semi-autonomous financial hub, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed "without the slightest delay".

The planned legislation -- expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition -- comes after Hong Kong was shaken last year by months of massive, often-violent protests, and repeated warnings from Beijing that it would not tolerate dissent.

With campaigners warning the proposal could spell the end of the city's treasured freedoms, thousands gathered and chanted slogans in the busy Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts, while some masked protesters set up makeshift barricades to stop police vehicles.

"People may be criminalised only for words they say or publish opposing the government," 25-year-old protester Vincent told AFP.

"I think Hong Kongers are very frustrated because we didn't expect this to come so fast and so rough. But... we won't be as naive as to believe that Beijing will simply sit back and do nothing. Things will only get worse here."

Riot police were deployed after protesters ignored earlier warnings from authorities against unauthorised assembly and violated the city's current coronavirus-linked law banning public gatherings of more than eight people.

As the number of protesters swelled, police fired tear gas and pepper spray to try and disperse the crowd, and later deployed water cannon and armoured vehicles against pockets of protesters.

At least 180 people were arrested, police said, the majority in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts. Other protesters were detained at a smaller demonstration in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The Hong Kong government condemned the "extremely violent and illegal acts" of the protesters and said they reinforced "the need and urgency of the legislation on national security".

It also accused protesters of injuring at least four police officers.

The scenes on Sunday were the most intense in months.

The Hong Kong pro-democracy movement had fizzled at the beginning of 2020 as arrests mounted and, later, large gatherings were banned to stop the coronavirus.

More than 8,300 people have been arrested since the protests erupted last year. Around 200 were detained during small rallies at malls on Mother's Day earlier this month.

Hong Kong residents enjoy rights -- including freedom of speech -- unseen on the Chinese mainland, as well as its own legal system and trade status.

Fears had been growing for years that Beijing was chipping away at those freedoms and tightening its control on the city, and campaigners have described the new proposal as the most brazen move yet.

- 'I'm very scared' -

Of particular concern is a provision allowing Chinese security agents to operate in Hong Kong, and that they could launch a crackdown against those dissenting the mainland's communist rulers.

"I'm very scared, but I still have to come out," said protester Christy Chan, 23.

"Aside from being peaceful, rational and non-violent, I don't see many ways to send out our messages."

Despite the alarm in Hong Kong and in some Western capitals, Chinese and city officials have insisted the proposed law is needed to prevent unrest and protect national security.

A top pro-Beijing official claimed Saturday that mainland Chinese law enforcement would not operate in the city without "approval" from local authorities.

But there is deep mistrust of China's opaque legal system in Hong Kong and of how Beijing might use the proposed regulations in the city.

The massive protests last year were sparked by a now-scrapped bill that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, and there are fears the new motion would be even more wide-ranging.

China's legislature is expected to rubber-stamp the draft resolution on Thursday, before the details are fleshed out at another meeting at a later date.

Officials have said the law would then be implemented locally.

US aide renews warning on China's proposed law for Hong Kong
Washington (AFP) May 24, 2020 - A top White House aide renewed a warning on Sunday that the US might revoke Hong Kong's special trading privileges if China enacts a tough new security law covering the territory.

The warning from national security advisor Robert O'Brien came amid soaring tensions between Washington and Beijing, and only hours after China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned that the two countries seemed poised "at the brink of a new Cold War."

Referring to Beijing's 1984 agreement to grant Hong Kong, a former British colony, substantial autonomy through 2047, O'Brien told CBS's "Face the Nation" that "it looks like they're violating that agreement."

"I can't see how Hong Kong remains an Asian financial center if the Chinese Communist Party goes through and implements its national security law and takes over Hong Kong," he said.

"That'd be a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong and it would also be very bad for China."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said Friday that the proposed law -- which China's rubber-stamp legislature is expected to act on quickly -- would be a "death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for Hong Kong."

He said that China's continued respect for Hong Kong's democratic institutions and civil liberties was "key to preserving its special status under US law."

Washington and Beijing have also jousted sharply over blame for the coronavirus pandemic, and over the role of the World Health Organization.

A US law passed last year requires the secretary of state to certify each year that Hong Kong remains largely autonomous; absent that, the territory risks losing trade privileges not enjoyed by mainland China.

The new Chinese law would enforce punishment for "subversion, treason and sedition" in the city, which would allow Beijing to crack down on protesters and dissidents.

Hong Kong was swept by massive and occasionally violent pro-democracy protests last year, and thousands gathered there Sunday to protest the proposed law, facing off with police.

Hong Kong residents enjoy rights -- including freedom of speech -- unseen on the mainland, and the city has its own legal system and trade status.

Hong Kong: nearly a year of unrest
Hong Kong (AFP) May 24, 2020 - China's proposal for a new security law in Hong Kong has revived tensions in the semi-autonomous city after it was rocked by months of pro-democracy protests last year.

Here is a recap:

- Seven months of unrest -

Starting in June 2019, Hong Kong experiences its biggest political crisis since 1997 when Britain handed the city back to China.

Often violent, near-daily protests involving clashes with police are sparked by a draft government bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China and its opaque judicial system.

The protests quickly snowball into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule after years of rising fears over the erosion of the city's freedoms.

Although the extradition bill is withdrawn, the government does not budge on protesters' demands for free elections, an investigation into police violence and an amnesty for the more than 8,300 people arrested over the unrest.

- Virus calm -

In January 2020 Hong Kong is one of the first places outside mainland China to report cases of the new coronavirus, after it emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

But despite its proximity to the mainland, Hong Kong only records just over 1,000 infections and four deaths.

A series of mass arrests and the measures in place to contain the pandemic usher in a period of enforced calm for the pro-democracy movement.

In mid-May Hong Kong extends anti-virus measures limiting public gatherings until June 4 -- a move that means an annual vigil marking the Tiananmen Square crackdown will likely not take place for the first time in 30 years.

- Heating up again -

But tensions flare again on April 18 when Hong Kong police carry out a sweeping operation against high-profile democracy campaigners, arresting 15 activists on charges related to the 2019 protests.

Rival Hong Kong lawmakers clash on May 8 inside the city's legislature as pro-democracy politicians attempt to scupper a controversial law that bans insulting China's national anthem.

There is more chaos on May 18, when the 15 activists are charged with organising and taking part in unlawful assemblies in 2019. At the legislature, protesting pro-democracy lawmakers are dragged from the chamber by security amid scuffles between rival camps.

- Security law -

On May 22, on the first day of its rubber-stamp parliament's congress, China unveils proposals to strengthen "enforcement mechanisms" in Hong Kong.

The draft proposal will "guard against, stop and punish any separatism, subversion of the national regime, terrorist group activities and such behaviours that seriously harm national security".

An attempt by the Hong Kong government to introduce a similar law in 2003 sparked huge protests and was shelved.

The plan draws Western rebuke. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urges China to reconsider the "disastrous proposal", saying it would "be a death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for Hong Kong".

On May 24, in the most intense clashes in months, thousands of pro-democracy protesters come out on the streets of the city against the law. Police fire tear gas and water cannon.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the law is "imperative" and should be imposed "without the slightest delay".

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