HK police arrest 18-year-old for writing ‘seditious words' in toilet
Hong Kong has taken a flurry of enforcement actions under security law commonly known as Article 23.
HONG KONG – Hong Kong police arrested an 18-year-old on suspicion he left what they called 'seditious' messages in a toilet, adding to a recent series of national security actions that signal the authorities' continued efforts to curb dissent.
The man is accused of being 'involved in writing seditious words in a commercial building toilet on three separate occasions', the government said on July 23. The content allegedly provoked hatred and disaffection against the government and incited others to defy the law.
The move is the latest in a flurry of enforcement actions against perceived threats to the Chinese state in the former British colony.
Hong Kong is seeking to burnish its status as a finance hub after its image took a hit from strict pandemic controls and clampdown on political freedoms.
Earlier in July, police arrested four men for allegedly advocating independence for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
In June, the local authorities took their
first known joint operation with Beijing's security officers to investigate a case of alleged foreign collusion.
Police also
banned a Taiwanese video game for allegedly calling for armed revolution.
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In its statement on July 23, the National Security Department of the police charged the man for carrying out 'with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention', a crime that is punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment on first conviction.
The offence is defined in the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23, which was fast-tracked into domestic law in 2024. It has been invoked in addition to the Beijing-imposed National Security Law of 2020, which the authorities used to detain and imprison dozens of leading democracy activists. BLOOMBERG
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