BREAKING: 6 arrested over alleged sedition under Hong Kong’s new security law

Hong Kong Free Press

This is a developing story – please refresh for updates…

Hong Kong police have made the first round of arrests under the city’s domestic security law, which was enacted in March. Five women and one man have been detained on suspicion of acting with seditious intention, police said on Tuesday.

article 23 national security law draft — A draft of Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law. Photo: Hillary Leung/HKFP.

According to the police, one of the arrestees was a woman in custody, who was alleged to have continuously published anonymous “seditious” posts on an social media page with the help of the other five.

The posts were said to have made use of an “upcoming sensitive date” to incite hatred against the central and Hong Kong governments, as well as the Judiciary. Police also alleged that the posts intended to incite netizens to organise or participate in illegal activities at a later time.

The arrests came a week before June 4, which this year will mark the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, when hundreds, if not thousands, died as China’s People’s Liberation Army dispersed student protesters in Beijing.

Police searched the homes of five arrestees and seized items related to the case, including electronic devices that were suspected of having been used to publish the alleged posts.

Under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, more commonly known as Article 23 legislation, crimes related to seditious intention is punishable by up to seven years behind bars.

“Those who intend to endanger national security should not delude themselves to think that they can evade police investigation by posting online anonymously,” a Chinese statement from the police read.

Police added: “The general public must recognise the truth and not to be deceived by false and distorted information.”

Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of to up to 16 days, and suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature.

The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.

This is a developing story – please refresh for updates…

Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team