Police arrest operator of prisoner support group over allegedly seditious books
Hong Kong national security police have arrested an operator of a local prisoner support group on suspicion of importing seditious publications, days after the group revealed that customs had seized dozens of books it had ordered from Taiwan. Police said officers carried out an enforcement operation in Mong Kok on Thursday morning, arresting a local man, 34, on suspicion of “importing a…
Hong Kong authorities have apprehended the head of a prisoner support group on suspicion of importing books deemed seditious, following a recent customs seizure. The 34-year-old director of a local company, also the director of the advocacy group Waiting Bird, was arrested in Mong Kok on Thursday morning under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
The suspect was allegedly involved in importing publications intended to incite hatred, contempt, or disaffection against the central authorities and the Hong Kong government. Police seized digital devices used for purchasing the books, documents, and other potentially seditious materials during the enforcement operation at the suspect's home and company premises.
The incident followed Waitin' Bird's revelation that customs had seized over 60 books it had ordered from Taiwan, with the group claiming the shipment was intended for local bookstores. The seized titles, comprising four books, were not new releases and had previously been imported and sold without issue. Waiting Bird, founded by former Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Derek Chu Kong-wai in 2022, maintains that the seized books do not carry a seditious intention and will adhere to legal boundaries.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
