Hong Kong national security police have arrested an insurance agent and a woman for allegedly operating “seditious” social media pages to stoke hatred against authorities and boost policy sales.
Hong Kong Police Force. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.In a statement on Thursday, the national security department of the police said a man and a woman, both aged 38, were arrested on Tuesday in Kowloon on suspicion of violating the city’s homegrown security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known locally as Article 23.
“The two arrestees include a man who is a licensed insurance agent, and they are suspected of operating various social media pages to publish content stoking hatred against the constitutional order of the city,” according to the Chinese-language statement.
“The arrested man also used this opportunity to sell insurance products for profit,” the statement added.
Police said they obtained a court warrant to search the homes of the pair, adding that they were granted bail pending investigation.
Citing sources, local media reported that the arrested man was Wong Ka-ho, a former member of localist groups North of the Rings and North District Blueprint. The woman is understood to be a friend of Wong’s.
Wong vied for a seat in the local district council twice, in 2015 and 2019, but did not succeed on either occasion.
Under Article 23, sedition is punishable by up to seven years in jail.