Fifty-five people were arrested last week under a security law that China first imposed on the former British colony in the spring.

Canada and its Five Eyes allies are calling on the Hong Kong government to reinstate disqualified candidates and hold its Legislative Council elections as soon as possible.

The primaries come less than two weeks after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on the Asian financial hub, stoking concerns that wide-ranging freedoms not seen in mainland China will be crushed.

Some calm has descended since the Nov.24 district elections, when pro-democracy candidates won nearly 90% of the seats.

Some winning candidates said the result was akin to a vote of support for the protest movement, and could raise the pressure on Hong Kong's pro-Beijing chief executive, Carrie Lam, amid the city's worst political crisis in decades.

Some of the seats that were once uncontested, and dominated by pro-Beijing candidates, are now being fought for by young pro-democracy activists.