The elections were to have taken place Sunday but Chief Executive Carrie Lam on July 31 postponed them for one year.

Six weeks after China imposed sweeping national security laws on Hong Kong, police moved in on media tycoon Jimmy Lai, one of the most outspoken critics of Beijing in the city.

Three males and one female, aged 16 to 21, were detained, a police official said at an 11 p.m. news conference. All are believed to be students.

On July 2, police arrested a 24-year-old man at the airport on suspicion of stabbing an officer during the protest just hours after China's new security law was imposed.

The sweeping new Chinese security law that critics warn will dismantle the last vestiges of Hong Kong's autonomy came into effect Wednesday

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement condemned the arrests.

Hong Kong police say they have made 6,022 arrests and fired nearly 16,000 tear gas rounds during six months of anti-government protests that have shaken the city.

A police statement said one of the lawmakers was charged Saturday. All of them will appear in court on Monday.

Hong Kong police say they have arrested 18 people, including 12 for a July 1 morning protest that preceded the storming of the city's legislature.