Six people have been detained in Hong Kong under a new security law, days before the 35th anniversary of the Chinese government's violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protest movement.
Hong Kong police said on Tuesday that a woman was held in connection with "seditious" social media posts calling for illegal acts before an unspecified "sensitive date." Five accomplices were also arrested.
June 4 marks 35 years since the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. The incident saw the Chinese government deploy the People's Liberation Army in Beijing's central Tiananmen Square to quell a wave of protests calling for freedom of expression and democracy.
Several hundred people are believed to have been killed, but the subject is taboo in China and the country's political leadership does not allow public discussion or commemoration of the incident.
For many years, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong as it is officially known was the only place in China where memorials for the victims could be held. However, Chinese authorities have cracked down on the former British colony in recent years since the passing of a national security law in 2020.
The latest arrests in Hong Kong on Tuesday were the first under a controversial new security law passed earlier this year, toughening penalties and giving police further powers to investigate and arrest suspects. Activists fear further restrictions on freedom of expression.