Police halt 4-person National Day protest in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) — Police in Hong Kong halted a four-person pro-democracy protest on China’s National Day amid a expanding crackdown on free speech and opposition politics. Chanting and carrying a banner, the four members of the opposition party League of Social Democrats had attempted to march to the site where the official National Day celebration was being held Friday. They were surrounded by officers who blocked their progress. Hong Kong’s government has banned most protests and employed a new security law to detain activists. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam presided over the National Day flag-raising ceremony and later praised the stabilizing effects of the security law while sounding defiant toward the U.S. and other critics.