Dentist Lee Ying-chi, one of the first people arrested for alleged sedition under Hong Kong’s homegrown security law, was reportedly taken away by the police on the 27th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.
Police did not respond to HKFP’s questions on Monday as to whether Lee was arrested, stating only that they “will take appropriate action in accordance with the law depending on the situation.”
A group of men – who appeared to be plainclothes police officers – stopped Lee at Wan Chai MTR station on Monday morning, before taking her into a room next to the station control room, Agence France-Presse reporter Xinqi Su wrote on Twitter. According to the videos shared by Su, uniformed officers also entered the room.
Monday marked 27 years since Hong Kong’s Handover from Britain to China on July 1, 1997. Lee was wearing a white t-shirt featuring a portrait of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong when she was stopped at the metro station, the videos showed.
Lee was later escorted by plainclothes and uniformed officers to a police vehicle parked outside Wan Chai station. It is unclear whether Lee was under arrest.
HKFP has reached out to the police for confirmation and comment. Lee did not pick up the phone when contacted by HKFP.
New security law
Lee was among eight people apprehended in late May and early June under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23, in connection with jailed human rights activist Chow Hang-tung.
It was the first time for the national security police made arrests under Article 23, which was passed in March.
Lee and other arrestees were accused of published social media posts on a Facebook page named “Chow Hang-tung Club” and making use of an “upcoming sensitive date” to incite hatred against the central and Hong Kong governments, as well as the Judiciary. The date is question is believed to be the June 4 anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Chow was an organiser of annual remembrance vigils.
Police also alleged that the posts intended to incite netizens to organise or participate in illegal activities at a later time.
Except for Chow – who is detained pending trial under the Beijing-imposed national security law – Lee and other arrestees were released on police bail.
According to local media reports, Lee was arrested on suspicion of sedition and disorderly public behaviour on June 3, 2023, the eve of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.
On July 1 last year, local media reported that Lee was stopped by police. She wore an orange polo shirt with the Chinese characters “Hong Kong” printed on it. She was stopped, questioned, and escorted to Causeway Bay MTR station.
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
