Hong Kong police arrested four people on suspicion of providing financial aid to overseas activists, just days after offering rewards for information that led to the arrest of eight pro-democracy activists in self-imposed exile.
The four, aged between 26 and 28, were arrested on Wednesday on charges of conspiracy with a foreign power, according to the police's national security unit - Beijing's largest city under a national security law introduced three years ago. Such crimes are prohibited in semi-autonomous cities.
They were also charged with plotting to incite rebellion, a colonial-era crime that activists say has been increasingly used by police in recent years to silence legitimate criticism of the authorities.
Although police have not yet revealed the identities of the four, local activist Lin Zifan was photographed being taken away by police. A legitimate source confirmed he was among those arrested.
The arrests came after police offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) each to eight overseas democracy activists on charges of violating national security, a move that was strongly condemned by human rights groups and Western governments.
Activists, human rights groups and Western governments say the law, which criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers, erodes the city's freedoms.
Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing said the law restored order in Hong Kong after the protests. Hong Kong's chief executive, former police officer and security chief, Lee Ka-chau, warned activists abroad on Monday that they would be hunted "for life" like officials in the United States, Britain and Australia - most of the eight currently on the wanted list are in US, UK and Australia, asking for the bounty to be revoked.
Police said in a statement that they searched the homes and offices of the four arrested and seized documents and electronic communication devices.
"The investigation found that the arrested persons were suspected of receiving funds from operating companies, social media platforms and mobile applications to support people who fled overseas and continued to engage in activities endangering national security," the statement said.
"They are also suspected of making multiple posts with inflammatory intent on social media platforms," the statement added.
The suspects are accused of posting content that incites hatred against Beijing and the Hong Kong government, while advocating "Hong Kong independence." Police did not provide examples of the posts.
香港警方拘捕4名涉嫌協助海外異見人士
香港警方因涉嫌向海外活動人士提供經濟援助而逮捕了四人，就在幾天前，香港警方懸賞提供信息，導致八名自我流放的民主人士被捕。
據警方國家安全部門稱，這四名年齡在 26 歲至 28 歲之間的人於週三因串謀外國勢力罪被捕——根據三年前出台的一項國家安全法，北京在這座半自治城市禁止此類犯罪行為。
他們還被指控密謀煽動叛亂，這是殖民時代的一項罪行，活動人士稱，近年來警方越來越多地利用這一罪名來壓制對當局的合法批評。
雖然警方尚未透露四人的身份，但當地活動人士林子凡被拍到被警察帶走。一位合法消息人士證實他是被捕者之一。
此次逮捕行動是在警方對八名海外民主活動人士懸賞每人 100 萬港元（12.8 萬美元）後進行的，指控他們違反國家安全罪，此舉遭到了人權組織和西方政府的強烈譴責。
活動人士、人權組織和西方政府表示，這項將分裂國家、顛覆、恐怖主義和與外國勢力勾結定為犯罪的法律侵蝕了這座城市的自由。
香港和北京當局表示，該法律在抗議活動後恢復了香港的秩序。香港行政長官、前警官和保安局長李家超週一警告國外的活動人士，他們將像美國、英國和澳大利亞的官員一樣受到“終身”追捕——目前通緝名單上的八人中的大多數都在美國、英國和澳大利亞。 live – 要求撤銷賞金。
警方在周三的聲明中表示，他們搜查了四名被捕者的住所和辦公室，並沒收了文件和電子通信設備。
聲明稱：“調查發現，被捕人員涉嫌從運營公司、社交媒體平台和移動應用程序接收資金，以支持逃亡海外並繼續從事危害國家安全活動的人。”
聲明補充說：“他們還涉嫌在社交媒體平台上多次發布具有煽動意圖的帖子。”
嫌疑人被指控發布煽動對北京和香港政府仇恨的內容，同時鼓吹“香港獨立”。警方沒有提供這些帖子的示例。
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