The National Security Division of the Police arrested the administrator of “Civil Service Secrets”. The arrested persons were staff of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Information Technology Office. They were involved in posting on social platform groups many times with seditious intentions to arouse or deepen hatred and hostility among residents of different classes in Hong Kong arts. After the two were arrested, several pages on the social media platform under the name of “Secrets” were closed. The development of the incident has a bit of white terror, but is this the case?
Pages that have been closed one after another, including “HA Secrets” of the Hospital Authority, “CUHK Secrets” of CUHK, and “Parents Secrets” discussing interesting parenting experiences, why are these secret pages closed in panic? Did the person in charge mistakenly believe that the National Security Agency would censor or even arrest all administrators of the “Secrets” secret page? Are they allergic and feel there are consequences for keeping the page? Or do you know what to do, knowing that you have stepped on the world in the past and hope to cut it as soon as possible to protect yourself? The answers to these questions will never be known to the public, only the parties involved.
After the arrest, some netizens worried that expressing their dissatisfaction with their work on social platforms would become a crime in the future. Some people also mentioned that they did not know whether “breaking the news” that the behavior of civil servants would make them fall into the legal net. These remarks imply that speech and behavior criticizing civil servants will be suppressed, and the space for free speech will be narrowed.
Does the above thought or concern hold true? Let’s look at some examples first. What has been revealed on the “Secrets” page for civil servants? The most fresh and hot is the posting of a video showing a uniformed police officer taking off his gun to sleep while on duty. What was the result? Has the relevant page administrator been arrested for this? Another example is early this year. When the fifth wave of the epidemic broke out, the special page posted that nearly 22 Civil Engineering and Development Department staff were on the yacht. I wish the then Director of the Department’s Lantau Sustainability Office, Fang Xuecheng, will be promoted soon. what’s the result? Has the page manager been arrested for this?
The basis for the arrest of the two administrators by the National Security Department is for someone using a social platform page to spread seditious intentions. When the case is tried in court in the future, the public will have a better understanding of how the incident is related to incitement. Today, if someone unknowingly says that the arrests are meant to be silenced, that they are on the line, they are not in line with the facts.
Today, there are people who continue to criticize the government every day on major traditional and social media platforms. Are there consequences? Will I be arrested and prosecuted if I don’t touch the red line and do not violate the “Hong Kong National Security Law”? If someone says that arresting a page administrator is to suppress speech, should they first produce evidence?
Any “Secrets” page is often a platform for gossip, right and wrong, and gossip. The author of the post does not step on the border or touch the red line, and any “Secrets” page can continue to speak, so any statement or idea that suppresses speech is exaggerated and goes against the truth.
Huang Lijun