Defiance Continues as Police Gain New Powers

Protesters with blank sheets of paper at apm mall tonight

Tonight at least 13 people were arrested at apm mall in Kwun Tong for protesting. Over 100 people were in the shopping mall shouted slogans, and held up blank pieces of paper, since they cannot be in possession of the offending slogan in printed form.

Riot police warned them to leave immediately, as these people were participating in an illegal assembly; when they didn't, officers then closed the mall and started searching people in the crowd.

It's quite remarkable to see people continue to show up and protest despite knowing they could be arrested based on the new national security law that is barely a week old.

At least 13 people arrested for illegal assembly

And to make things seem even harsher, the Hong Kong government has further extended police powers when it comes to online communications and social media.

Anyone publishing electronic messages on social media deemed to be endangering national security could be asked by the police to remove them or stop disseminating them. Failure to do so immediately could lead to the police getting warrants to seize the electronic equipment, and demand service providers hand over records about anyone's identity or help in decoding or de-encrypting.

The police and Secretary for Justice could apply for a court order to require a person to answer questions or produce certain materials.

If someone fails to comply, they could be fined up to HK$100,000 and jailed for a year, while service providers could face the same amount of fine, and six months in prison.

In addition, a political organization of a foreign country or outside the mainland, including Taiwan, could be asked for information on their activities, personal particulars and assets without court approval.

Over 100 people turned out for the protest

Those that fail to comply could face a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a HK$100,000 fine if convicted. Those found guilty of providing inaccurate or incomplete information could be jailed for two years and fined HK$100,000.

In these instances, the police could also authorize searches at the premises without a warrant under exceptional circumstances.

It basically means that now intercepting communications no longer needs a court warrant with regards to national security cases; the chief executive has give them police the powers to do this.

So if you haven't cleaned out your social media accounts, now's the time... censorship is alive and well in Hong Kong...