"Up to 10 PM [14:00 GMT], a total of 35 people had been arrested for offences that included wounding, unlawful assembly, participating in unauthorised assembly, disorderly conduct in public place and possession of offensive weapons. Acts of violence are not to be condoned," the police wrote on Twitter.
The protests were timed to the anniversary of first major clashes between law enforcement officers and demonstrators. South China Morning Post reported that the police had urged protesters who defied a coronavirus health ban on large gatherings to disperse and then started making arrests. In some locations, officers purportedly used pepper spray.
In June 2019, mass protests erupted in Hong Kong as a reaction to a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to Taiwan, Macau, and mainland China. The demonstrations continued and turned violent even after the unpopular measure was withdrawn in October. Beijing has said that the situation in Hong Kong was a result of foreign interference in China's domestic affairs.
Protests received a new momentum after the Chinese parliament voted in May to develop a national security law that bans secessionist and subversive activity in Hong Kong.
