Teen among 4 arrested for subversion in Hong Kong
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A flag with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times” and a Tibetan flag at a police press conference regarding an arrest operation in Hong Kong on July 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s national security police said on July 10 that they arrested four people, including a 15-year-old, who were allegedly part of a group seeking to subvert the city state.
Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, after sometimes-violent democracy protests the year before.
The new law criminalised four categories of offences: secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion, making the offences punishable with up to life in prison.
Chief Superintendent Steve Li said four males aged between 15 and 47 were arrested on July 9 for “conspiracy to subvert state power”.
They played various roles in a group established in Taiwan in November 2024 that later called for the overthrow of the Chinese Communist Party, he said.
“They said they would seek international support and provide military training to Hongkongers abroad,” Mr Li told reporters.
A Facebook page matching the Chinese name of the group identified by the police had fewer than 70 followers.
The police also displayed flags seized during the July 9 operation, including one of Tibet and one bearing a slogan outlawed by Hong Kong authorities.
The four people remained in custody on July 10.
Hong Kong enacted a separate national security law of its own in 2024, which officials said was needed to restore order.
As at July 1, the authorities had arrested 333 people for various national security crimes, with 165 of them convicted.
Beijing’s top official overseeing Hong Kong, Mr Xia Baolong, said in June that the city must remain on guard for national security threats and “soft resistance”. AFP
