Why is 'Reversed front: Bonfire' banned in Hong Kong?: Taiwanese app removes mobile game; calls it seditious
A phone shows the an app store page for the application Reversed Front Bonfire (AI)
In a latest attempt to tighten its grip over Hong Kong, China has declared possession of a game about defeating communist regime called 'Reversed Front: Bonfire' as seditious under the national security laws.
Police in a statement warned, those who download or share the mobile game app 'may be regarded as in possession of a publication that has a seditious intention"
As described in the games website, players can 'pledge allegiance' to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Tibet or Uyghurs, among other options, to 'overthrow the communist regime'.
It comes as the city continues to see increasing clamp down by Beijing, on dissent in wake of the 2019-pro democracy protest, ever since the imposition of drcaonian national security law following year.
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A line on the app website states, the game is 'work of non-fiction,' adding any similarity to actual agencies, policies or ethnic groups of the PRC (Peoples Republic of China), in this game is intentional'.
It also allows players to support revolutions joining hands with communists and fight enemies.
Police have also warned people against providing any financial assistance to the application developers, ESC Taiwan, including making any in-app purchase.
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"'Reversed Front: Bonfire' was released under the guise of a game with the aim of promoting secessionist agendas such as 'Taiwan independence' and 'Hong Kong independence'," said the police statement.
"Those who have downloaded the application should uninstall it immediately and must not attempt to defy the law."
However, the warning may have unintentionally boosted the game's visibility, as it became the top Google search term among Hong Kong users on Wednesday.
The developers seemed to welcome the publicity around the ban, posting that the game had effectively been "introduced to the entire Hong Kong" because of the controversy.
Hong Kong, the city state though it is autonomous, is currently governed under one China principle.
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