Hong Kong police have apprehended a 62-year-old man over suspected “offences in connection with seditious intention,” marking the eighth arrest under the new security law in a case linked to jailed human rights activist Chow Hang-tung.
Police made the arrest in Sha Tin on Monday, according to a statement, adding that the man had been held for investigation.
National security police made their first arrests under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, more commonly known as Article 23, last Tuesday. Chow was among six people apprehended in connection with social media posts made on a Facebook page named “Chow Hang-tung Club.” A seventh arrest followed on Wednesday.
Police last Tuesday said the posts 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.
“Concerning the sensitive date, actually I think the date itself was not important,” Tang told reporters in Cantonese last Tuesday. “The most important thing is that these people who intend to endanger national security made use of this subject to incite hatred,” he added.
The arrests came ahead of the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Tuesday will mark 35 years since the crackdown, when hundreds, if not thousands, died as China’s People’s Liberation Army dispersed student protesters in Beijing.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which Chow used to be vice-chair of, organised annual vigils to remember the victims of the crackdown in Victoria Park until 2020, when the gathering was banned on anti-epidemic grounds amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The vigil was banned in 2021, with police again citing Covid-19, and the Alliance disbanded in September 2021 after its leaders – Chow, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan – were arrested on suspicion of inciting subversion. There have been no official commemorations held since.
Police said on Monday statement that all of those arrested last week had been granted bail apart from Chow, who is being detained at the Tai Lam Centre for Women.
According to local media, those arrested on Tuesday included Chow’s mother, former Hong Kong Alliance standing committee member Lau Ka-yee, former district councillor Katrina Chan, dentist Lee Ying-chi, and activist Kwan Chun-pong.
The person arrested on Wednesday was reportedly Kwan’s wife, surnamed Poon. The 53-year-old was also suspected of violating the Beijing-imposed security law over funding activists including Nathan Law, who is now based in the UK. She stood accused of “providing pecuniary or other financial assistance or property for the commission of secession by other persons,” police said.
Citing sources, Sing Tao reported that the man arrested on Monday was Chow’s uncle.
Under the city’s new security law, crimes related to seditious intention is punishable by up to seven years behind bars.
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.
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
