In Hong Kong: Outside the Hong Kong court where the city's largest national security trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, a small group of protesters gathered.
A banner that two people were carrying read, "Crackdown is shameless," and added, " Release all political prisoners immediately.
As a large number of police officers stood nearby, another protester could be seen raising a fist in support.
The largest trial to date is being held in accordance with a national security law that Beijing imposed on the city in 2020 and has been used to suppress opposition.
The law changed Hong Kong, bringing an end to a culture of loud demonstrations and outspoken politics and transforming China's most free city into one that was more like the authoritarian mainland.
Some of the city's most prominent activists, a legal scholar, and former lawmakers are among the 47 defendants. If found guilty of "conspiracy to commit subversion," they face a sentence of life in prison.
In the hope of witnessing the beginning of the proceedings, supporters and critics had waited in line outside the court, some even overnight.