3 arrested over allegedly seditious memorial outside Prince Edward MTR station

Three individuals have been arrested on suspicion of sedition following a gathering outside Prince Edward MTR station in Hong Kong to commemorate a 2019 protest flashpoint. According to a police force spokesman, two men and a woman were apprehended on Thursday for allegedly shouting seditious slogans and displaying white flowers outside the station on August 31.

The spokesman stated that their actions were suspected of spreading false information and disparaging the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, as well as vilifying the police force with the aim of inciting hatred against the city government and its law enforcement agencies.

The Prince Edward MTR station became a focal point during Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-government protests, when controversial police tactics led to accusations of deaths that were later debunked by the police and government. Since that event, memorial gatherings outside the station have become a recurring occurrence, with at least 14 people being arrested in a 2020 gathering in the Prince Edward area.

The police spokesman dismissed allegations of an incident occurring inside the station on August 31, 2019, calling it a fabricated claim by individuals with hidden motives to disseminate falsehoods, attack the Hong Kong government, and tarnish the police force. The maximum penalty for the sedition charge is seven years’ imprisonment.

Police also confiscated exhibits from the arrestees' residences, though they did not disclose what these items were. Two of the three suspects remained in police custody by Saturday afternoon, with one individual being released on bail from Hung Hom police station at 3pm.