Hong Kong: Six arrested under new security law for 'posting' online

One of the arrested women was already in pre-trial detention at Tai Lam Centre, a maximum security women's prison, police said.

The police investigation revealed that the woman in pre-trial detention, through the five others, “posted messages with seditious intent on an anonymous social network page since April 2024, taking advantage of a sensitive day to come”, indicates the press release .

This was done “with the aim of inciting hatred against the central government (Beijing), the HKSAR government and the judiciary, as well as inciting netizens to organize or participate in illegal activities at a later stage”.

The six people were “suspected of having violated Article 24 of the Ordinance relating to the safeguarding of national security, which says 'Offences linked to seditious intent'”, the press release said, referring to the newly promulgated law. in Hong Kong.

This would be the first such arrest under the law, commonly known as Section 23.

Adopted in March, Article 23 provides for penalties of up to life in prison for five categories of crimes, including treason, insurrection, espionage, sabotage and external interference.

It also expanded the British colonial-era offense of “sedition” to include inciting hatred against Chinese Communist Party leaders.

It is the city's second national security law – the first was imposed by Beijing in 2020 after the suppression of huge, sometimes violent, democracy protests.

Tuesday's arrests come a week before June 4, the 35th anniversary of Beijing sending troops to Tiananmen Square to suppress calls for democracy.

su-dhc/dhw