Hong Kong’s controversial national security law tip line gets 10,000 messages in first week of operation

By 8am on Thursday, the multi-platform project had gathered the equivalent of 1,400 pieces of information a day for the force’s new national security unit

While some messages were repeated, others were constructive, a government source said, adding it was still too early to draw conclusions about volume

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Hong Kong’s anonymous tip line for reporting national security law violations racked up 10,000 messages in its first week. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:30pm, 14 Nov 2020Updated: 11:47pm, 14 Nov 2020

Hong Kong’s new multi-platform tip line for suspected violations of the Beijing-imposed national security law received more than 10,000 messages in its first week in existence.

A police spokesman told the Post that the tally, as of 8am on Thursday, equated to about 1,400 pieces of information per day delivered to the force’s new national security unit.

A government source said while some messages to the line were repeated, others were constructive, adding it was impossible to draw conclusions about the number of tips given the short window of time involved and the lack of “apple to apple” comparisons.

There was, however, a similar model adopted last September, when police launched an “anti-violence hotline” to gather intelligence from the public to crack down on anti-government protests.

The Office for Safeguarding National Security in Causeway Bay. Photo: Winson Wong

Over the past 13 months, that hotline has gathered more than 1.2 million pieces of information, or close to 3,000 tips a day on average, enabling police to follow up some leads and make arrests.