Global Courant
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s National Security Police on Wednesday arrested four men accused of supporting foreign dissidents and advocating for independence from China, two days after issuing warrants and bounties against several foreign-based activists.
The four men “were suspected of receiving money from operating companies, social platforms and mobile applications to support people who have fled abroad and continue to engage in activities that endanger national security,” the police’s National Security Department said. of Hong Kong in a statement. .
The statement did not specifically link the arrests to eight arrest warrants issued earlier this week for prominent dissidents based abroad.
Local media, citing unnamed sources, connected the arrested men to an online platform known as “Punish Mee”, which was allegedly used to provide financial aid to the eight wanted foreign activists.
The police statement cited “suspicion of conspiracy to cooperate with foreign forces and act with inflammatory intent” and said the men were suspected of violating the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020 following the outbreak of democracy demonstrations.
“They were also suspected of repeatedly publishing messages with inflammatory intent on social media platforms, including content that incited hatred against the Central Authorities (China) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, and advocated Hong Kong’s independence,” it said. the explanation. said a police statement.
The statement did not name the detainees.
A Reuters witness saw Ivan Lam, the former chairman of the now-disbanded pro-democracy group Demosisto, being taken into a police van from an industrial building in Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung district on Wednesday.
Two sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Lam was one of four arrested men named in the police statement.
Police said they searched the detainees’ homes and offices with a court order and seized some related documents and electronic communication devices.
Police added that the men are being held for further investigation and are not ruling out further arrests.
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The authorities have offered bounties of HK$1 million (S$173,000) each for information leading to the arrest of the eight foreign activists.
Demosisto was led by now-imprisoned democracy activist Joshua Wong, along with one of eight wanted foreign activists, Nathan Law. It was disbanded in 2020, hours after China’s parliament passed national security legislation.
