Hong Kong police’s national security hotline received over 920,000 reports over the past four years, security chief Chris Tang has said.
Speaking at a ceremony on Thursday to mark five years since the Beijing-imposed national security law was enacted, Tang said Hongkongers “cannot relax or be complacent.”
“The SAR government has done a lot of work, including strengthening law enforcement…” Tang said in Cantonese on Thursday.
“More importantly, we need the support of all citizens,” he said.
The hotline was established by national security police in November 2020, four months after Beijing imposed national security legislation in Hong Kong following the anti-extradition protests and unrest.
Tang said since the national security law took effect, police have arrested 326 people over offences related to national security. Among them, 165 people have been convicted.
The security law “filled a gap in Hong Kong’s legal system to safeguard national security,” but “hostile forces continue to seek opportunities to harm our country and the SAR, ” he said.
In an interview published by state-backed media outlet Wen Wei Po on Thursday, Tang said in Cantonese that “the work of safeguarding national security is only ongoing, with no end in sight.”
Tang added that Hong Kong authorities closely cooperate with mainland Chinese authorities in safeguarding national security.
‘Truth’ of 2019 protests
Thursday’s ceremony also saw the opening of an exhibition marking the fifth anniversary of the national security law’s implementation. Located in the Hong Kong Museum of History, the exhibition features the 2019 protests and unrest, as well as laws and regulations related to national security.
Paul Lam, the city’s justice minister, said during the ceremony that the exhibition shows the “historical truth” of the 2019 protests, and is a “vivid demonstration” of the importance of safeguarding national security.
HKFP saw on Thursday afternoon that the entrance of the exhibition hall was decorated with the names of various social movements in Hong Kong. A short film on the 2019 protests and unrest was also being screened.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
Some have criticised Hong Kong authorities’ characterisation of the 2019 protests as “black-clad violence,” “colour revolution,” and “insurrection,” and accused the government of using the movement to justify new security legislation.
