China has appointed a hard-line figure as head of its new security agency in Hong Kong.
Zheng Yanxiong is known for his role in dealing with a protest over a land dispute in the Southern Chinese village of Wukan.
The new agency, which answers directly to Beijing, is being set up to enforce a draconian security law passed by this week in Hong Kong.
Opponents of the law said it erodes the territory’s freedoms. The law is set to target secession, subversion and terrorism with punishments of up to life into prison.
A number of leading pro-democracy activists have stepped down from their roles and one of them, one time student leader and local legislator Nathan Law, has fled the territory.
One of the 10 people arrested using the new law during protests on Wednesday has become the first to be charged under it.
