Hong Kong national security law: police warn restaurant over anti-government posters
- Officers warn owners of Bowl and Plate in Shau Kei Wan over materials that could violate the national security law
- Japanese restaurant Hungry Dino, several others also remove posters to avoid falling foul of new legislation
A restaurant in Shau Kei Wan, Bowl and Plate, said four uniformed police turned up at its doors on Thursday morning, saying they received reports about materials posted there that could violate the sweeping new legislation Beijing had imposed on Hong Kong to protect national security.
Officials have not made clear whether displaying anti-government posters and materials would lead to arrests, but police on Wednesday arrested 10 people taking part in the annual July 1 rally for violating the new law.
At least six of them were in possession of flags and fliers that advocated Hong Kong independence.
Civic Party member Gordon Lam Sui-wa helped the restaurant’s owners to take down the posters.
“Police said this restaurant is a public place when it is open for business,” Lam said.
“They said if they received further reports, they would take law enforcement actions.”
The Post has contacted police for comment.
They [authorities] can remove our posters, but that won’t change our hearts
A police source had told the Post earlier that public display of pro-independence materials could lead to arrests, so would the chanting of separatist slogans.
Past photos of Bowl and Plate available online show numerous artworks and posters related to the protests, though no posters advocating Hong Kong independence could be seen.
02:21
‘Lennon Walls’ spring up across Hong Kong after Chief Executive Carrie Lam declares extradition bill ‘dead’
“The revolution is not over, comrades must continue to work hard,” one poster read.
Lam accused authorities of eroding freedoms of speech and expression, saying it would also affect the city’s business environment.
Hong Kong national security law: What is it about? Read the full text
“They can remove our posters, but that won’t change our hearts,” Lam said.
The shop owner declined to be interviewed.
At the height of the protests last year, businesses supporting protesters formed a “yellow economic circle” and said they hoped to employ people with similar political beliefs and support those arrested during the demonstrations.
The national security law, which came into effect on Tuesday night, outlaws acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the city’s affairs.
It has been a year, people know if you are yellow or blue and they will remember
The maximum penalty for each crime is life imprisonment, although the suggested sentence for some minor offences is less than three years’ jail.
People can fall foul of the first two crimes regardless of whether force is used.
Also on Thursday, a mobile phone application called Woleieat, popular among protesters, disappeared from app stores.
The application’s name translates to “eat with you” and informs users whether a restaurant is on the pro-government “blue” or pro-protest “yellow” camp.
It is not immediately clear whether the application was pulled down by its developers, but some similar applications were still available online.
Hungry Dino, a Japanese restaurant, also removed postings from its storefront in Causeway Bay on Wednesday.
Many other bars and restaurants also made a similar move.
A worker of Hungry Dino, who did not want to be named, said she decided to remove the posters after discussing with her employer, adding that there had not yet been a police warning.
“This is not what we want … but we have no choice,” she said.
She said the removed postings had all been kept and they planned to build a “memory wall”, but only with postings that were less likely to alert authorities.
Providing a space for others to post may also be seen as violating the law
Asked if the removal of the posters would affect their business, she said: “It has been a year, people know if you are yellow or blue and they will remember.”
On the same street in Causeway Bay, employees of American restaurant Little Vegas were on Thursday seen scraping off stickers supporting the protest movement, but they declined to be interviewed.
Executive Council member Ronny Tong Ka-wah said authorities would consider the full context of the postings in deciding whether they were against the law.
Yellow economic circle’ takes hit amid uncertainty over national security law
“The provisions do not say which writings breach the law,” Tong said, adding those who removed the postings might have done so to show they had no criminal intent.
Anyone resisting the removal of the postings may trigger police investigations, he warned.
He also said whether the materials were against the law depended on whether they incited or abetted others in committing acts of secession.
Barrister Billy Li On-yin said businesses should remove the postings to avoid getting into trouble.
“Providing a space for others to post may also be seen as violating the law,” Li said, adding it was unclear how the law would be enforced.
Additional reporting by Gigi Choy
