Authorities in Hong Kong on Thursday warned that slogans and speech related to last year’s protest movement or calls for independence for the city fall within the scope of draconian security legislation imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party on June 30.
“Some people participating in illegal and violent activities … [on] July 1 displayed or possessed items bearing the words 「光復香港 時代革命」 ,” the government said in a statement referring to a popular protest slogan which translates as “Free Hong Kong! Revolution Now!”
“[This] slogan nowadays connotes “Hong Kong independence”, or separating the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) from the People’s Republic of China, altering the legal status of the HKSAR, or subverting the State power,” it said
The government said it “strongly condemns any acts which challenge the sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China.”
It cited the national security law, which bans actions or activities promoting “secession, subversion of state power and other [dangers to] national security.”