Hong Kong police arrest seventh suspect in sedition case under Article 23 law

Another source said those arrested on Tuesday included former alliance chairwoman Chow Hang-tung and her mother, Medina Chow Lau Wah-chun. Activist Chow Hang-tung is currently remanded in prison for a separate offence.

The Post learned that the suspects have been accused of allegedly publishing seditious materials linked to the Tiananmen Square crackdown with the aim of inciting hatred of local and central authorities.

Police said an investigation had found the woman arrested on Wednesday exploited an “upcoming sensitive date” to repeatedly make anonymous seditious posts on a social media platform with “the help of at least six arrestees since April of this year”.

The social media posts were intended to provoke hatred towards central authorities, the city government and the judiciary, as well as “incite netizens to organise or participate in relevant illegal activities at a later stage”, the force said.

Police said Chow was on remand in custody, while the other suspects were still being held for questioning as of Wednesday afternoon.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung revealed at a press briefing on Tuesday that the arrests were linked to the publication of allegedly seditious content on a Facebook page called “ChowHangTungClub”.

The arrests under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance are the first since the law was enacted on March 23. Sedition was previously outlined as an offence under past legislation before the new law took effect.

The ordinance states that it is an offence for a person to utter a word that carries seditious intention, including those that provoke a person in Hong Kong to feel hatred, contempt or disaffection towards local executive or judicial authorities.

The definition also covers those who incite others to commit acts that do not comply with the law.

Under the ordinance, offenders face up to seven years in prison.