Hong Kong national security law: controversial police hotline receives more than 1,000 tips within hours of going live

Residents can send information related to alleged violations of law via SMS, email and WeChat, the mainland’s most influential messaging app

Opposition lawmakers have decried the move, saying it will create a chilling effect on political dialogue in the city

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Dominant mainland messaging app WeChat is one of three ways Hongkongers can submit tips about alleged national security law violations. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:09pm, 5 Nov 2020Updated: 5:21am, 6 Nov 2020

Hong Kong police on Thursday said they had received more than 1,000 pieces of information just hours after the launch of a new multi-platform hotline for the public to report suspected violations of the Beijing-imposed national security law.

Confirming an exclusive Post report last week, members of the public have been invited to share intelligence related to national security matters via three platforms: SMS, email and WeChat, China’s most influential messaging app, which is popular among the city’s pro-establishment community.

A police spokesman said that as of 6pm on Thursday, over 1,000 purported tips had already been received via the hotline.

“This hotline is solely for receiving national security-related intelligence such as information, photos, audio or video clips. The hotline will not give any replies or be answered,” the force wrote on its social media platform on Thursday.

The force also added the hashtags “#WeCanHelp”, “#YouCanHelp” and “#SaveHK” as it promoted the new hotline on Twitter.