Revealed: Police powers to shut down Hong Kong ‘separatists’
Under the new national security law for Hong Kong, police will be able to conduct searches without a warrant, restrict suspects from leaving the city, and intercept communications.
Hong Kong’s government issued the details of Article 43 in the city’s national security law yesterday.
According to the rules, police can conduct searches for evidence without a warrant in “exceptional circumstances”. Police may also apply for a warrant that requires a person suspected of violating the national security law to surrender their travel documents, thus restricting them from leaving Hong Kong.
Additionally, under the rules, property can be confiscated if there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect it is related to an offence endangering national security.
Platforms and publishers, as well as internet service providers, can be ordered to take down content that is “likely to constitute an offence endangering national security or is likely to cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security”.
Service providers who do not comply could face fines of up to 100,000 Hong Kong dollars ($19,626) and jail terms of six months.
Individuals who post such messages may also be asked to remove the message, or face similar fines and a jail term of one year.
Under the rules, Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam can also authorise police to intercept communications and conduct surveillance to “prevent and detect offences endangering national security”. Finally, written notices may also be served to a foreign political organisation or Taiwan political organisation, or individual agents, to furnish details on their activities related to Hong Kong. This includes details such as personal particulars, assets, income, and expenditure of the organisation in Hong Kong. Failure to comply or providing false or incomplete information can result in a fine of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars or imprisonment of six months or two years respectively.
Hong Kong’s national security law, imposed last week following anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year, makes secessionist, subversive, and terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs. Any activities such as shouting slogans or holding up banners and flags calling for the city’s independence are a violation of the law regardless of whether violence is used. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
Critics see it as Beijing’s boldest step yet to erase the legal firewall between the former British colony and the mainland’s authoritarian Communist Party system.
Hanscom Smith, US consul general to Hong Kong, described the law as a tragedy: “Using the national security law to erode fundamental freedoms and create an atmosphere of coercion and self-censorship is a tragedy for Hong Kong.”
Since the law went into effect, the government has specified that the popular protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” has separatist connotations and is thus criminalised.
In Hong Kong’s public libraries, books by pro-democracy figures have been pulled from the shelves, including those written by prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and politician Tanya Chan. A 23-yearold man, Tong Ying-kit, was the first person in Hong Kong to be charged under the new law, for allegedly driving a motorcycle into a group of policemen while bearing a flag with the “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” slogan.
Tong appeared in court yesterday facing charges of incitement to secession and terrorist activities. He was denied bail.