The month of July 2020 in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests began with a turning point in the evolution of the protests, brought about by the Hong Kong national security law. The law, which had been passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China on 30 June and come into effect on the same day, was widely seen as having the purpose of curbing opposition, in a broad sense, against the Chinese Communist Party in the city. The law had direct relevance to the protests, as it prescribes harsh penalties for the tactics that protesters had commonly used. Nevertheless, sizeable protests erupted throughout the city on occasion of the 1 July protests the next day, resulting in about 370 arrests, including at least ten on charges under the new law. The Hong Kong government, faced with the task of implementing a law that had been drafted and promulgated without substantial involvement by its own officials, was seen widely, including in the academic and media sectors, as being unable to draw a clear demarcation line between which acts would constitute punishable offences under the law, and which would not. The vagueness of the law, while refused by the city's police chief, was seen by pro-democrats and observers as a deliberate device to amplify its deterrence effect. While the law immediately created a chilling effect, smaller protests continued into the month. During these, protesters sometimes used inventive means to adapt, such as holding up blank sheets of paper, or singing the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong with numbers instead of lyrics. The month ended with major suppression activities by the local government, including the arrest of four student activists and a ban on twelve pan-democratic candidates for the legislative council election in September. In justifying the disqualifications, the Hong Kong government stated that the candidates had intended to breach the national security law once elected. On 31 July, the Hong Kong government announced that the election would be deferred by a year due to the worsening of the COVID-19 crisis. Already before the disqualifications of opposition candidates, there were calls by pro-democrats in Hong Kong and their sympathizers abroad for increasing international pressure on China to change its politics regarding Hong Kong. Furthermore, there were calls on Western countries to provide safe havens for protesters through temporary residence and to create pathways for immigration. Several Western countries took steps to respond to the latter requests, as the United Kingdom had already done earlier, with these steps being sharply criticized by mainland Chinese officials. In relation to non-governmental activism, it was noted internationally that the security law expressly states (in its Article 38) that it also applies to non-Hong Kong permanent residents located outside of Hong Kong. (en)
The month of July 2020 in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests began with a turning point in the evolution of the protests, brought about by the Hong Kong national security law. The law, which had been passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China on 30 June and come into effect on the same day, was widely seen as having the purpose of curbing opposition, in a broad sense, against the Chinese Communist Party in the city. The law had direct relevance to the protests, as it prescribes harsh penalties for the tactics that protesters had commonly used. Nevertheless, sizeable protests erupted throughout the city on occasion of the 1 July protests the next day, resulting in about 370 arrests, including at least ten on charges under the new law. The Hong Kong government, (en)