Hong Kong has introduced its first arrests beneath a brand new safety legislation – detaining six individuals for publishing social media posts which “incited hatred” in opposition to Beijing.
5 ladies and one man – together with activist Chow Dangle Tung – had been arrested on Tuesday, it was introduced.
Officers stated the group had been posting messages focusing on a “delicate date” – reported domestically because the Tiananmen Sq. anniversary on 4 June.
If discovered responsible, the group may withstand seven years in jail beneath the harsher penalties introduced in by the brand new legislation, referred to as Article 23.
The legislation, which was fast-tracked via Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing parliament in March, covers treason, sedition and state secrets and techniques, and permits for trials to be held behind closed doorways.
It expands on the nationwide safety legislation, imposed by Beijing in 2020.
Hong Kong’s authorities says is critical for stability, however its introduction raised fears that civil liberties could be additional eroded.
Ms Chow was already in jail dealing with fees beneath the preliminary nationwide safety legislation.
A barrister, she is understood for serving to organise Tiananmen Sq. memorial occasions within the metropolis. For many years, Hong Kong was the one Chinese language metropolis the place these commemorations had been allowed, beneath the town’s semi-autonomous financial, political and authorized arrange – referred to as “one nation, two methods” – established when the town was handed over to China by the UK in 1997.
However occasions remembering the 1989 incident, which noticed China crush peaceable protests in Beijing with tanks and troops, had been banned in 2020.
In accordance with the South China Morning Put up, Tuesday’s fees associated to a Fb group the place a sequence of posts had appeared remembering the earlier occasions.
Secretary for Safety Chris Tang – who confirmed they had been Fb posts – instructed reporters the topic was not the issue.
He stated, quoted by the SCMP, that the accused had “incited hatred in opposition to the central authorities and our Hong Kong authorities and the judiciary”.
“This incitement of hatred is the reason for the crime,” he added.
