Activists arrested in Hong Kong

HONG KONG — A day after Hong Kong picked a new Beijing-backed leader, police started a fresh round of arrests of student leaders and other prominent figures involved with the huge 2014 “Umbrella Movement” pro-democracy protests.

Police notified them earlier in the day that they would be arrested and charged with committing a public nuisance, according to the Demosisto political party.

[...] the arrests have fueled fears of a wider crackdown on pro-democracy supporters amid rising concerns about mainland China’s tightening grip on the semiautonomous city.

“We expect a large-scale political prosecution,” tweeted Joshua Wong, the activist who helped lead the 2014 protests and co-founded Demosisto, one of a new wave of parties that advocate “self-determination” or even independence from China.

The arrests appear to have been timed to protect Lam, who was Beijing’s preferred candidate, from facing tough questions about the government’s crackdown during her leadership campaign, Amnesty International Hong Kong director Mabel Au said.