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American Military News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- American Military News
Hong Kong grows more opaque on arrests in national security cases
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Hong Kong authorities are declining to provide details of six recent arrests under a national security law, fueling growing concerns about government transparency as it tightens controls on dissent. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Tuesday that since the promulgation of the National Security Law in 2020, 332 individuals have been arrested. That was an increase of six arrests since Secretary for Security Chris Tang stated on June 1 that 326 people had been arrested under the law, with 165 convictions. When local media asked about the new arrests, the Security Bureau said detailed breakdowns of arrest figures are 'classified information related to safeguarding national security in the HKSAR and thus will not be made public.' HKSAR stands for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Political commentator Sampson Wong said that in the past the Hong Kong government rarely used national security as a reason to withhold information, and now the public's basic right to know was being damaged. 'At this point, reporters can still detect some of these arrests, but how long will that last? In the future, will people be arrested without anyone knowing?' Wong asked. 'Anything could be labelled a breach of confidentiality. If this continues, the truth will be completely under the control of national security authorities,' he said. The National Security Law was adopted after massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 as Beijing tightened controls over Hong Kong, which had enjoyed greater civic freedoms than mainland China and greater government transparency, including by police. China maintains the 2020 law was required to maintain order. Last month, the Hong Kong government bypassed Legislative Council procedures and unilaterally enacted two new subsidiary laws under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which significantly expanded the powers of Beijing's office overseeing national security in the city. Under the measures, it is prohibited to disclose or film the office's operations; civil servants must cooperate with and support national security operations; and any act that obstructs national security officers from performing their duties is criminalized. While it remains unclear which six arrests happened in the past two weeks, on June 2, the National Security Department arrested one man and four women for allegedly conspiring to commit terrorist activities. The suspects had reportedly used phones, emails, and messaging apps to send messages threatening to bomb central government offices and a sports park, while also promoting pro-independence messages for Taiwan and Hong Kong. On June 6, prominent democracy advocate Joshua Wong, who is already serving a four-year-and-eight-month sentence for subversion, was formally arrested on an additional charge of 'conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.' Last week, authorities also launched a national security investigation into six unnamed persons on suspicion of 'colluding with a foreign country.' But the Security Bureau clarified that no arrests had been made as yet related to that probe.
RTHK
5 days ago
- Politics
- RTHK
Security laws 'don't mean public should drop guard'
Security laws 'don't mean public should drop guard' Chris Tang says there was an increase in applications to hold demonstrations in 2024 and the government had not rejected any of them. Photo: RTHK The security chief stressed that the public should remain vigilant even with the implementation of the National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in 2020 and last year respectively. Chris Tang told RTHK's NSL Chronicles III, aired on Monday, that even though Hong Kong has become much more stable with the passage of the laws, national security threats still exist. "You can see that everyday a lot of external forces keep smearing [Hong Kong] or using other ways to endanger national security," he said. "Moreover, a lot of their agents in Hong Kong still deploy a lot of soft resistance – making, for example, false claims to incite discontent with the government on every issue. "We have to be very careful with these kinds of soft resistance." He went on to say that those who have left Hong Kong have continued to smear the SAR and colluded with external forces to endanger national security, and there are domestic terrorism activities to incite discontent towards the administration. However, Tang noted that the public has become more aware of national security. For instance, more than 860,000 reports have been lodged with the national security hotline since it was set up in November 2020. Tang also said it is untrue to say that the two laws have restricted residents' freedom to hold demonstrations and assemblies. There were 392 protest applications in 2024, representing a rise of 15 percent compared with 2023, Tang said, and the government had not rejected any of them.
Mint
6 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Hong Kong Mulls Whether Beijing Should Handle Collusion Case
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's security chief said the city is working with Beijing to determine whether the mainland should take control of a suspected case of foreign collusion, a move that would expand China's influence on national security-related cases in the financial hub. Hong Kong authorities are investigating whether to invoke Article 55 of the city's national security law, said Secretary for Security Chris Tang on a Commercial Radio program on Saturday. Article 55 outlines the circumstances under which Beijing's Office for Safeguarding National Security can exercise jurisdiction over Hong Kong's national security cases. 'The office will need to ascertain whether there were any situations specified under Article 55,' said Tang. 'We need to understand and investigate whether these had happened.' The Hong Kong government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal working hours. If the case is turned over to Beijing, it would also mark a turning point in how the city handles national security cases. The former British colony's independent courts and rule of law are often credited for its success as a financial capital. Tang's comments come in the wake of the first known joint operation carried out by Beijing's national security office in Hong Kong and city officials. Local authorities on Thursday night announced they were investigating a case of alleged foreign collusion with China's Office for Safeguarding National Security. Hong Kong security officials searched the homes of six suspects, as well as the office of an organization, and seized evidence including bank documents and devices. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Hong Kong Mulls Whether Beijing Should Handle Collusion Case
Hong Kong's security chief said the city is working with Beijing to determine whether the mainland should take control of a suspected case of foreign collusion, a move that would expand China's influence on national security-related cases in the financial hub. Hong Kong authorities are investigating whether to invoke Article 55 of the city's national security law, said Secretary for Security Chris Tang on a Commercial Radio program on Saturday. Article 55 outlines the circumstances under which Beijing's Office for Safeguarding National Security can exercise jurisdiction over Hong Kong's national security cases.
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Probe under way on whether Beijing will take over collusion case: Hong Kong's Chris Tang
Beijing's national security arm in Hong Kong conducted its first publicly known joint operation with the city's police to determine whether a suspected collusion case is complex to the extent that it requires mainland China to take over, the security minister has revealed. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Saturday that no arrests had been made so far, adding it would require the central government's approval if the case were to be handed over. His remarks were made after the government announced on Thursday night the joint operation between local police and Beijing's Office for Safeguarding National Security, with observers predicting that it could be the first step in an investigation into an unusually complex collusion situation that was ultimately handed over to mainland authorities. 'The office will need to ascertain whether there were any situations specified under Article 55 [of the national security law] … we need to understand and investigate whether these had happened,' Tang said during a radio programme. Secretary for Security Chris Tang has said that no arrests have been made so far. Photo: May Tse Under the article, the office shall exercise jurisdiction over cases deemed complex due to the involvement of a foreign country or external elements, making it difficult for Hong Kong to proceed.
