Nine Arrested Under New Hong Kong Law Released On Bail; Iran: Fire Caused Significant Damage At Nuclear Site
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. Let's go to Hong Kong now where a young man accused of terrorism and inciting secession has been denied bail. He is one of hundreds of people who were arrested during Wednesday's protests and one of 10 people charged under a new so called national security law imposed on the City by Beijing. Anna Coren reports.</s>ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first person to be charged under Hong Kong's new sweeping at national security law that came into effect less than a week ago creating a climate of fear and uncertainty in the city has been denied bail and will remain behind bars. 23-year-old - who appeared here in West Kowloon magistrates court arrived in a wheelchair after he rode a motorbike through the streets of the city on July 1 holding a flag with the slogan liberate Hong Kong a revolution of at that time. Well, shortly after he crashed into police injuring himself and 3 police officers. The prosecution said that because the crowds were cheering as he drove past holding the now legal flag he was inciting secession. He's also being charged with terrorist activities because it injuring police. Well 9 other people were also arrested that day under the national security law but what will released on bail. A total of 370 people were arrested on July 1st mostly for unlawful assembly. When I spoke to Tom's lawyer Laurence Lau after the court appearance he said that his client was in good spirits both mentally and physically. But due to the highly sensitive nature of his national security law the band sedition subversion terrorism and colluding with foreign forces he would not divulge any information about the case. Instead saying "These are challenging times for Hong Kong, the city is facing its darkest hour" With China now family in control by implementing this new national security law they're a grave fears as to what this will mean for the city's freedoms especially the freedom of speech the freedom of the press and freedom of assembly? Well over the weekend the books by pro democracy activists were removed from public libraries including one from high profile activist Joshua Wong. The 23-year-old who quit his party Dennis is still which then it disbanded a day before the national security law was implemented appeared in a different court today on 3 charges for organizing and inciting protests last year. Wearing a black T-shirt that read they can't kill us all he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Anna Coren, CNN Hong Kong.</s>BRUNHUBER: And the last hour I spoke with the Former Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten.</s>CHRIS PATTEN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG: I believe that China rose up it's a great country and would keep its word would keep your actual treaty is particularly one that's being launched at the United Nations. And by and large until Xi Jinping came along the present dictator in China and they didn't do too badly but things have taken a turn for the worse and it's the greatest assaults I think on a free society with greater. The insult on a free society as anybody can remember in the last 50 or 60 years which is why it's been so widely pronounced.</s>BRUNHUBER: Do you think this is a clear breach of the agreement put into place when the colony was handed over?</s>PATTEN: Yes. Everybody I think recognizes that it's a clear breach of the joint declaration. It's a clear breach of the basic law which is the mini constitution which China itself designed for Hong Kong - because Xi Jinping's regime in Beijing is particularly nasty.</s>PATTEN: And it's taking advantage of the fact that the rest of the world is focusing on fighting the Coronavirus which of course and started in China and it perhaps worse because of the initial secrecy by the Chinese about it and he's taking advantage of that to pick fights with everybody. I'm from here India in the West to Japan in the - particularly now Hong Kong. And they would allow people like Joshua Wong to stand in the Legislative Council is I think pretty fanciful label trying to stop it. And because they know that if people like Joshua Wong and other Democrats running those elections that will win a landslide.</s>BRUNHUBER: Well, you know basically what we're seeing now all these you know people were being arrested for banners and books being banned. I mean, does it show just exactly how wide ranging this law is?</s>PATTEN: It really does. And what we have to recognize is two things about it and there's no way any in nature about them. And things aren't ever quite define the decision. What do they mean by secession? What they mean by collusion? You only find out with Chinese law with the rule of fair when it actually - when it actually the topper falls on you. Secondly there is an international extra territoriality about it because what the Chinese regime is saying in this law is that even if you are not a Chinese citizen even if you're not a citizen of Hong Kong. And even if you're outside Hong Kong and China if you do anything which appears to against this law you could be arrested as soon as you step foot in Hong Kong or China. So it has been a deadly affect not only on the academic community not only on India's but also I suspect on some aspect of business is what this affect us is end the freedom of information which is very important for good business.</s>BRUNHUBER: And pro-Beijing officials insist this new law will not erode freedoms in the city. CNN's Ivan Watson spoke with Hong Kong Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng.</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think a majority of the population supports this law here in Hong Kong?</s>TERESA CHENG, HONG KONG SECRETARY OF JUSTICE: I think they do. I really think they do because it's--</s>WATSON: What is the problem is that popular opinion polls show your Chief Executive is very unpopular and that China's policies here in Hong Kong are deeply unpopular. There was no effort to pass a referendum to get any mandate of popular support for this. This was imposed on the people here. So it's hard to claim that a majority of the population supports this especially if opposition activists are closing down their political offices out of fear right now and clearing their history of social media?</s>CHENG: Right, as a whole number of questions that let me start with them. And I think it's important to bear in mind where I started just now that is national security is the sovereign right. And in fact for every state that is one of the most important things. For every national and in particular in Hong Kong as I said were very international city. We look at people here as Hong Kong residents who come from all over the world. They still have been the legions to Hong Kong because you know as a matter of common law there is a concept of temperate legions as well. But they all love Hong Kong has a home. They all want Hong Kong to be stable and prosperous. They all want to move forward from the difficult times that we had last year. The national security law will give us just that environment for us to come down stop all that. And one of the thing that has to be observed and it's worth mentioning that the there is no retrospective effect. So in other words it's a clean break everybody now knowing what should not take place.</s>BRUNHUBER: Now as CNN's Ivan Watson speaking with Hong Kong Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng. Tensions between Washington and Beijing are ramping up once again over the South China Sea for the first time in 6 years to U. S. navy aircraft carriers moved into the region on July 4th American Independence day. China just wrapped up its own naval exercises near a disputed island chain state media says China is ready to repel any U. S. attempt to challenge its claims. Iran says a fire at its top nuclear facility was worse than initially announced. The nation's atomic agency now says the blaze caused significant damage at the Natan's nuclear science. Officials originally described the damage is limited because of Thursday's fire remains unknown so as the reason behind two other back to back industrial accidents that's hit Iran over the weekend. The Coronavirus pandemic has decimated air travel and in Latin America that means layoffs and an industry that won't recover for years. What employees are proposing to try to save their jobs?</s>BRUNHUBER: Plus human health care workers are helping other countries that have been hard hit by the coronavirus just ahead why the U.S. wants them to stay home?