UK group says told to remove website by HK police

A UK-based group says Hong Kong police have told it to remove its website over a potential breach of the SAR’s national security law.

Hong Kong Watch, which describes itself as a charity that monitors threats to basic freedoms in the city, said in a social media post that the Security Bureau had given it 72 hours to take down its website, after criminal investigations found that it had been “engaging in activities seriously interfering in the affairs of the HKSAR and jeopardising national security of the People’s Republic of China.”

Hong Kong Watch posted a letter it said was from the Security Bureau, accusing the group of lobbying foreign countries to impose sanctions or take other hostile action against China or the SAR.

In the letter, the bureau warned the group’s founder Benedict Rogers that he may face collusion charges. Failure to take the site down within 72 hours of the receipt of the letter, it added, could land him a year in jail and a fine of HK$100,000.

In a response to RTHK, the police said they would not comment on specific cases, but they will act according to the law to suppress offences endangering national security.

“The public can continue to use the internet lawfully and will not be affected”, a spokesman added.

In a statement, Rogers said the NGO has merely reported on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Watch will not remove its website.