Man Could Face 10 Years in Prison for ‘Hong Kong Independence’ Flag; First Arrest Under ‘National Security’ Law

Protesters wave flags that read "Hong Kong Independence" during a rally in Hong Kong, Sund
AP Photo/Vincent Yu
Frances Martel

Hong Kong police announced on Wednesday that officers had made their first arrest under the Communist Party’s new “national security” law: a man found to have in his possession a flag reading “Hong Kong independence.”

The “national security” law, passed illegally through Beijing’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and implemented this week, provides sentences of at least ten years in prison to life in prison for those found guilty of “secession,” “subverting state power,” “foreign interference,” or “terrorism.” The crimes are loosely defined, allowing the arrest of anyone deemed to support the independence of Hong Kong from communist China.

Under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy that has governed Hong Kong since the United Kingdom gave it up in 1997, China does not have the legal authority to impose laws on the country. Communist Party leaders claim that, since the policy grants Beijing sovereignty over the territory of Hong Kong, the NPC is allowed to act to exercise that sovereignty and that defending “national security” is a legitimate exercise of sovereignty.

Chinese officials insist that arresting people who express the belief publicly that Hong Kong’s culture is not compatible with communist values is a security issue.

The Global Times, a Chinese government propaganda newspaper, confirmed the arrest of the unnamed man on Wednesday, stating explicitly that his crime was “holding a Hong Kong independence flag” in public. There is no evidence that man was violent or posed a threat to anyone.

The man’s identity has not yet been made public. Marion Smith, the executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, noted that the man appeared to be wearing the organization’s “Free Hong Kong” shirt when he was apprehended.

“The police said it was the first arrest made since the law was enforced,” the Global Times explained. “The police explained that the flag was in his possession, which was the reason for the arrest.”

The newspaper listed some of the now-criminal opinions that may land anyone present in Hong Kong, not just residents, in prison for at least ten years, including “Hong Kong Independence Only Way Out,” “Hong Kong Independent National Self-Awakening,” and “others that express or imply” independence. Hong Kong police did not reportedly specify what constitutes an “implied” statement of support for independence.

The arrest tally skyrocketed following that detention. July 1 is the anniversary of the British surrender of Hong Kong to China, a day in which Hong Kong residents typically take to the streets for commemoration events. The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), an organization that has often ensured that the protests against China’s usurping of Hong Kong’s autonomy receive legal police permits, said on Tuesday that police rejected its application for a permit, but that protesters were planning on congregating on Wednesday, anyway.

According to Apple Daily, an anti-communist newspaper, thousands of Hongkongers joined together for a peaceful protest on Wednesday, triggering an aggressive police presence and as many as 180 arrests by early evening. By the end of the day, the Hong Kong Foreign Press (HKFP) counted over 370 arrests.

“The police unveiled a new purple-color warning flag which said banners or slogans showing intent of secession or subversion would constitute offenses under the law,” Apple Daily noted.

Police also reportedly deployed pepper spray and water cannons to attack peaceful protesters. One video shared by Hong Kong dissidents online showed an apparent journalist – journalists in chaotic scenes must wear bright yellow vests to distinguish themselves from the crowd – targeted at close range by a police water cannon and falling to the ground.

Hong Kong police issued a statement late Wednesday asserting that their violence was necessary because “some people” had gathered to chant “Hong Kong independence, the only way out,” a national security crime punishable by as much as life in prison. Police also claimed that some protesters had physically attacked officers.

“An officer was stabbed in the arm by rioters holding sharp objects when he was taking arrest action. While the bystanders offered no helping hand, suspects fled,” the official Hong Kong police Twitter account said in a post. The post did not offer any evidence that the person or persons responsible had anything to do with the anti-Chinese assembly. Instead, it accused not just the alleged assailants, but “by-standers” of not doing enough to protect the police.

The Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK reported that some protesters did “smash windows” and commit other acts of vandalism.

Protests attracting millions of people began taking place regularly in Hong Kong over a year ago, initially in response to an attempt to pass a law in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council that allowed China to extradite anyone present in the territory to be tried in a Communist Party court if accused of violating Chinese laws. As the law would have allowed China to disappear people into its notoriously opaque criminal justice system for anti-communist speech and other acts protected by Hong Kong’s human rights safeguards, opponents insisted it was a violation of “One Country, Two Systems.”

The current “national security” law, rather than allow China to fully enforce all its law in Hong Kong, now allows it to enforce restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly, and other civil liberties, just as the extradition law would have allowed, but to use the Hong Kong justice system to do so.

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