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Independent reporter Tang Ho‑wing and activist Lee Ying‑chi were arrested on grounds of the 2024 national‑security law following a protest outside Prince Edward station, leading to condemnation from press freedom organisations.
The latest crackdown in Hong Kong has seen the arrest of an independent journalist and an activist who were detained on the grounds of the newly enacted local national‑security law, a legislation that supplements an earlier Beijing‑imposed statute that followed the 2019 protests.
Tang Ho‑wing, a 37‑year‑old reporter who runs the online outlet Boom News, and Lee Ying‑chi, 58, an activist, were apprehended on Wednesday by officers clearly identified as coming from the National Security Department. CCTV footage shows Tang, wearing handcuffs, being escorted by police in vests bearing the department's initials to a transport van near a residential block. The incident marks the first known arrest of a journalist under the 2024 security law, raising alarm among press bodies across the city.
Broader Operation Links Arrests to Prince Edward Disturbance
The arrests were carried out during a broader operation that stemmed from a disturbance that took place on August 31 outside the Prince Edward metro station. According on a police statement released on Wednesday, the authorities found a crowd holding bouquets while shouting pro‑democracy slogans. Earlier that month, six other individuals were detained for similar offences; they were later released on bail. Officials accused some of the individuals present of disseminating false information and spreading lies that vilified the government.
The police claimed that some demonstrators attempted to incite hatred against the state. Tang had earlier posted a social‑media clip from the same location, showing protesters chanting "August 31," which the police argue constitutes seditious activity. The crackdown has drawn sharp condemnation from a range of international watchdogs. The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said that arresting reporters for simply covering an event or offering an alternative narrative puts all journalists at risk.
Beh Li Yi, Asia‑Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, called on authorities to release Tang immediately and stopped treating journalism as sedition. Reporters Without Borders issued a statement calling the move a further step toward the criminalisation of press freedom. According to internal data, as of September 1, authorities had detained 416 people in the name of national security, 186 of whom have already been convicted.
International Condemnation Highlights Tightened Hong Kong Control
The incident arrives at a time when activists around the world keep marking the anniversary of the 2019 protests. Critics have long accused the police of using excessive force during the initial crackdown, noting that riot police allegedly used batons and pepper spray indiscriminately, a claim that authorities deny. The new law was enacted in 2024, reflecting Beijing's desire to tighten control over Hong Kong's political space.
With its passage, the city now has two overlapping national‑security legislations that govern dissent, effectively broadening the government's power to prosecute activists and, as this case shows, even journalists.
Hong Kong National Security Law Journalism Activism International Protest
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