In January 2021, 53 pro-democracy activists, former opposition legislators, social workers and academics were arrested by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force under the national security law for holding and running in the primaries for the originally scheduled Legislative Council general election. The security ministre accused the opposition activists of "subverting state power" for holding the primaries and said that they were suspected of "conspir[ing] to obtain 35 or more seats at the Legislative Council (LegCo) with a view to … forcing the resignation of the Chief Executive, as well as bringing the HKSAR Government to a complete standstill, … to paralyse the Government and seriously interfere in, disrupt and undermine the performance of government duties and functions".