Hong Kong pro-independence party formally outlawed in first such move since handover

FILE PHOTO: Andy Chan, founder of the Hong Kong National Party, speaks during a luncheon at the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong, China, August 14, 2018. Paul Yeung/Pool via REUTERS

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong authorities formally banned on Monday a group promoting independence from China - the first outlawing of a political organisation since Britain handed its former colony back to Chinese rule in 1997.

The city's Secretary for Security John Lee announced the ban on the Hong Kong National Party in a brief statement published in the government's gazette, 10 days after the party submitted arguments against the move.