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The National Security Office of the Hong Kong Police said that in addition to the four arrested, they will also meet with other participants to understand their reasons for voting.
The National Security Office of the Hong Kong Police arrested four former and current officers of the Hong Kong University Student Union for detention, accusing them of “promoting terrorist activities”. The case is related to the July 1 assassin case in Causeway Bay.
Late at night on July 1 this year, a 50-year-old man surnamed Liang committed suicide after stabbing a police officer with a knife in the downtown area of Causeway Bay. The SAR government characterised the incident as a “lone wolf-style local terrorist attack.” The Council of the Student Union of the University of Hong Kong met on the evening of July 7 and passed a motion to “deep condolences” for assassinating suspects, which aroused fierce criticism from the SAR government and the pro-organizational political camp.
The Student Union later announced that it had withdrawn the motion and apologized, and some members of the Council and Council resigned. The University of Hong Kong announced that it would terminate recognition of the Student Union and prohibit students involved in the meeting from entering the campus. The National Security Office of the police also went to the University of Hong Kong to conduct a search and arrested until Wednesday (August 18).
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, previously targeted some citizens who came to the scene of the assassination case to present flowers, criticizing some people linking social contradictions with violent behavior and spreading “wrong reasoning”. He also urged parents and teachers to report illegal behaviors of young people around him.
Secretary of Security Deng Bingqiang was asked why the students were arrested on Wednesday, saying that no one would not be arrested because they had a specific identity. He also claimed at the Legislative Council meeting that day that most local militant organizations in Hong Kong used social media to recruit members, and their actions were similar to trends in international terrorist activities, but there were also signs that some people had penetrated campuses with terrorist ideas and recruited students to participate in terrorist activities.
Deng Bingqiang stated that some students’ concern organizations, political groups and cram schools “willfully indoctrinate students with improper values, spread false or biased messages, in order to arouse students’ hatred of the country and the SAR government, and even advocate the use of violence and illegal behaviors. To achieve political goals”, the SAR government will strengthen intelligence collection and conduct a comprehensive investigation of any acts of spreading false or undesirable information on the Internet and attempting to incite hatred or violence.
Image source,AFP
After the assassination of the police, some Hong Kong citizens, especially young people, came to the scene of the crime to offer flowers and were driven away by the police.
The police accused the arrested students of “glorifying terrorism”
Senior Superintendent of the Hong Kong Police National Security Department Li Guihua said on Wednesday that at the emergency meeting of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union Council held on July 7, “someone promoted terrorism”, the police arrested four men aged between 18 and 20, all officers of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union. Or a member of the Council of the Student Union, and said that all four of them attended the meeting and spoke and held positions.
Hong Kong media quoted anonymous sources as reporting that those arrested included former student union president Guo Yonghao, council chairman Zhang Jingsheng, former vice chairman of foreign affairs of the student union of the College of Arts Rong Songxi, and former Li Guoxiantang dormitory student union representative Du Lin Chengheng. The campus newspaper “Xueyuan” of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union stated that the editor-in-chief of “Xueyuan”, the chairman of the campus TV of Hong Kong University and the honorary secretary of the council have also been requested by the police to assist in the investigation.
The Council of the Students’ Union of the University of Hong Kong approved the “deep condolences” and “gratefulness” of the assassination suspects who committed suicide. The National Security Office criticized the motion for “shocking, rationalizing, beautifying, and glorifying terrorism and indiscriminate attacks. , To encourage suicidal behavior, which is totally incompatible with social moral standards.”
Li Guihua said that in addition to the four arrested, the police will also interview those who have attended the meeting to understand their roles in the meeting and the reason for voting.
The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police alleged that the four persons were suspected of violating Article 27 of the “Hong Kong National Security Act,” that is, “promoting terrorism and inciting terrorist activities.” The National Security Office stated that all arrested persons are now being detained for investigation. The police operation is still in progress, and it is not ruled out that more people have been arrested.
The “Hong Kong National Security Law” stipulates that if the “crime of propagating terrorist activities” is found guilty by the court, and the circumstances are serious, it shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years.
Image source,AFP
In mid-July, agents of the National Security Department of the police searched the Hong Kong University Students’ Union building that was being forced to relocate by the school.
After the resolution was passed, the University of Hong Kong told the media that the congress “beautifies the violent attacks” and “brings wrong messages to society” and strongly condemned the congress for passing the relevant resolutions. Professor Li Guozhang, chairman of the University Council of the University of Hong Kong and former director of the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, told the South China Morning Post that he “welcomes” the Police National Security Office to investigate the student union and will consider expelling the students involved.
In the early morning of July 9, Guo Yonghao, the president of the Student Union, led the secretary-general meeting and convened a press conference with members of the council, saying that the bill was “seriously inappropriate.” Guo Yonghao and other officers also announced their resignation.
The University of Hong Kong subsequently announced the termination of recognition of the Student Union established in 1912 and ordered the Student Union to move out of the office building. The National Security Office of the police conducted a search on the office building of the Student Union on July 16 and took multiple boxes of exhibits in the offices including “Xue Yuan” and campus TV.
On August 4, the University of Hong Kong Council issued an order prohibiting students involved in the meeting from entering the campus. This triggered hundreds of Hong Kong University graduates to jointly sign a request for the school to withdraw the sanctions against entering the campus. The co-signer believed that the students had withdrawn the motion and apologized, and should not deprive students of their learning opportunities.
Regarding the arrest of four student union members, the University of Hong Kong told the Hong Kong media that the case is under investigation and it is not appropriate for the university to comment.
According to data released by the Hong Kong police at the end of July, as of June 30, 2021, the police have arrested 117 people on suspicion of crimes related to China’s national security, of which 64 have been filed criminal proceedings.
According to the police, these arrested persons are suspected of “secession of the country”, “subversion of state power”, “terrorist activities”, “collusion with foreign forces”, “funding others to split the country with money or other property”, and some of them are also suspected of “publishing sedition “Fraud”, “money laundering” and other crimes.