Activists vow to press ahead with vote on striking over national security law despite arrest of three supporters and warning from minister

Pledge comes as secretary for civil service says government employees taking part would violate code of conduct

The three volunteers were detained in Causeway Bay, where crowds had gathered to mark protest anniversary on Friday night

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Student activists co-organising the referendum. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 2:12pm, 13 Jun 2020Updated: 7:42am, 14 Jun 2020

Hong Kong activists organising an unofficial referendum on whether to carry out class boycotts in tandem with general strikes over the national security law vowed to press ahead, despite the arrest of three volunteers.

The pledge came as the secretary for civil service warned government employees that taking part would be a violation of their code of conduct.

The vote, originally planned for this Sunday but postponed until June 20 over the prospect of bad weather, is being co-organised by the Hong Kong Secondary School Action Platform, the Demosisto political party of activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and more than 20 labour unions linked to the anti-government movement. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) on Friday accused Wong and others of exploiting secondary school pupils.

The boycotts and strikes are intended to fire a warning shot to Beijing as it prepares to draft the legislation, which aims to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.

Various trade unions linked to Hong Kong’s anti-government protests have backed the referendum on whether to take part in a strike to oppose the impending national security law. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Isaac Cheng Ka-long, spokesman for the Hong Kong Secondary School Action Platform, on Saturday said organisers would not be deterred.