Latest news with #seditious
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
HK Arrests 18-Year-Old for Writing ‘Seditious Words' in Bathroom
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong police arrested an 18-year-old on suspicion he left what they called 'seditious' messages in a bathroom, adding to a recent series of national security actions that signal authorities' continued efforts to curb dissent. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital The man is accused of being 'involved in writing seditious words in a commercial building toilet on three separate occasions,' the government said Wednesday. The content allegedly provoked hatred and disaffection against the government and incited others to defy the law. The move is the latest in a flurry of enforcement actions against perceived threats to the Chinese state in the former British colony. Hong Kong is seeking to burnish its status as a finance hub after its image took a hit from strict pandemic controls and clampdown on political freedoms. Earlier this month police arrested four men for allegedly advocating independence for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. In June, local authorities took their first known joint operation with Beijing's security officers to investigate a case of alleged foreign collusion. Police also banned a Taiwanese video game that month for allegedly calling for armed revolution. In its Wednesday statement, the National Security Department of the police charged the man for carrying out 'with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention,' a crime that's punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment on first conviction. The offense is defined in the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23, which was fast-tracked into domestic law last year. It's been invoked in addition to the Beijing-imposed National Security Law of 2020, which authorities used to detain and imprison dozens of leading democracy activists. The Hong Kong government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.


Bloomberg
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
HK Arrests 18-Year-Old for Writing ‘Seditious Words' in Bathroom
Hong Kong police arrested an 18-year-old on suspicion he left what they called 'seditious' messages in a bathroom, adding to a recent series of national security actions that signal authorities' continued efforts to curb dissent. The man is accused of being 'involved in writing seditious words in a commercial building toilet on three separate occasions,' the government said Wednesday. The content allegedly provoked hatred and disaffection against the government and incited others to defy the law.


Free Malaysia Today
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Putrajaya PKR files report against Harakah over anti-Anwar rally
Putrajaya PKR deputy chief Shariff Jeev (third from left) and other division leaders after filing the police report at the district police headquarters. PUTRAJAYA : Putrajaya PKR has lodged a police report against PAS organ Harakah Daily over an allegedly seditious article that promotes a protest against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. At a press conference outside the district police headquarters, the division's deputy chief Shariff Jeev claimed the article contained seditious content that would incite Malaysians. 'We urge the police to investigate the article and the planned protests under Section 124B of the Penal Code (for committing an activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy) or any appropriate law,' he said. When asked if he wanted the authorities to prevent the rally from going ahead, he said it should be allowed to proceed if it was held in an 'appropriate way'. Shariff nonetheless claimed that the protest planned for July 26 could become a threat to the country's peaceful way of life and its parliamentary democracy. 'So far, 52 police reports have been lodged throughout the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak. Today alone six reports were filed', he added. Putrajaya PKR information chief Hafiz Osman called for the protest to be held somewhere else instead of Dataran Merdeka to prevent it from 'spiralling out of control'. 'We do not want the protesters to provoke others. We hope the police will be able to cordon off the area.' The rally organised by Perikatan Nasional aims to push for Anwar's resignation as prime minister. Last week, over 300 rallied in Shah Alam for the same cause. The smaller rally was held to promote the Dataran Merdeka protest.


Free Malaysia Today
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Court to decide on blogger's sedition case on Sept 24
Blogger Wan Azri Wan Deris, also known as Papagomo, faces two sedition charges over remarks made on social media. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : The sessions court has fixed Sept 24 to deliver its decision in the sedition trial of blogger Wan Azri Wan Deris, also known as Papagomo, over a statement involving the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Wan Azri's lawyer, Rafique Rashid Ali, said the court fixed the date on Tuesday after the prosecution closed its case. Seven witnesses were called to testify. Wan Azri, 41, is accused of making the statement in a post on X, under the account sir_azri, at a condominium in Bukit Bintang at 12pm on April 29. If convicted under the Sedition Act, he faces a maximum fine of RM5,000, up to three years in prison, or both. The court is also expected to rule on July 9 in a separate sedition case involving Wan Azri. In that case, he is accused of claiming in a Facebook video on Nov 8, 2023 that the government is 'pro-Israel and pro-Western nations'.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
HK bans 'seditious' mobile game about fighting communists
Hong Kong residents found downloading or sharing a mobile game app about defeating the communist regime may be punished under national security laws, police have said. According to the website for Reversed Front: Bonfire, players can "pledge allegiance" to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Tibet or Uyghurs, among other options, "to overthrow the Communist regime". In a statement on Tuesday, police warned that those who download the game "may be regarded as in possession of a publication that has a seditious intention". It comes as Beijing has tightened grip over the city and has been seen as increasingly cracking down on dissent in the wake of the 2019 pro-democracy protests. In a line on the game's website, it stated that it was a "work of non-fiction", adding that "any similarity to actual agencies, policies or ethnic groups of the PRC in this game is intentional". The game also allows for users to play as communists to fight enemies and support the communist revolution. Police have also warned people against providing funding to the app developer, ESC Taiwan. "'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." As of Wednesday, the game - which was launched in April - is no longer accessible on Google Play or Apple's App Store from Hong Kong. But the warning might have inadvertently brought more attention to the game, which on Wednesday was the most popular search term on Google among Hong Kong residents. The game's creators have appeared to embrace the news surrounding its ban in the city, writing in a post that the game had been "introduced to the entire Hong Kong" as a result. In 2020, China imposed a national security law (NSL) on Hong Kong that critics say effectively outlawed dissent - but Beijing maintains is crucial for maintaining stability. The law - which criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces - came in response to massive pro-democracy protests that broke out in Hong Kong in 2019. Media mogul Jimmy Lai and activist Joshua Wong are among the pro-democracy figures that have been charged or jailed under the NSL. Hong Kong is governed under the principle of "one country, two systems", under which China has agreed to give the region a high degree of autonomy and to preserve its economic and social systems for 50 years from the date of the handover. But critics say the implementation of the NSL has breached the "one country, two systems" principle, though Beijing and Hong Kong have argued the NSL ensures the "resolute, full and faithful implementation" of "one country, two systems". Silenced and erased, Hong Kong's decade of protest is now a defiant memory What is Hong Kong's national security law?