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hong kong has charged four people for sharing social media posts urging an upcoming public boycott “Patriots Only” Legislative Council Elections.
One of them was charged with treason and the other three were accused of engaging in unlawful conduct on social media.
Lam Chung-ming, 68, was arrested on Tuesday for posting material that allegedly incited hatred against the city government and asked people not to vote. He was charged with the national security offense of “seditious publication” after appearing before the West Kowloon Magistrates Court on Thursday, accused of “knowingly publishing publications containing seditious intent”.
The other three, two men and a woman, were charged on suspicion of violating Hong Kong’s election laws. They were identified as Wong Kin-kwok, 55, Lam Kin-sik, 66, and Bonnie Ma, 61.
The charges against him carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which oversees election law, said it “strongly condemned criminals who attempted to interfere with and undermine the ongoing Legco election by circulating online messages inciting others not to vote”.
“ICAC urges the public to strictly abide by the law and distinguish between truth and truth to avoid being fooled and exploited by lawbreakers,” it said in a statement.
The commission said it had also issued warrants against two others, who were out of the city, for making the initial post which was shared by the three accused.
“The ICAC investigation revealed that Keung Ka-wai and Tong Wai-hung had published posts on their social media pages that incited others not to vote in the 2025 Legco elections,” the statement said.
“Subsequently, Wong reposted Keung’s post on his own social media page, while Lam and Ma reposted Tong’s post on their respective social media pages.”
The arrests came as the government launched a campaign urging city residents to vote in the Legislative Council elections in December.
This will be only the second such election since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system to ensure only people deemed “patriots” can run.
In 2021, Hong Kong amended its electoral laws The controversial “Patriot-only” system, The crackdown on dissidents came after two years of pro-democracy protests. The 2019 protests marked the most concrete challenge to Beijing’s control over the city since the return of the former British colony. China in 1997.
The new system significantly reduces the public’s ability to vote and increases the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city.
2023 Zilla Parishad elections Less than 1.2 million residents – 27.5 percent of the electorate – voted.
In an effort to boost voting percentage this time, the government has decorated the city with promotional material encouraging people to vote.
Authorities have extended train service hours on election days and some businesses have already pledged half-days to enable their employees to vote.
Hong Kong leader John Lee last month urged the public to fulfill their “civic responsibilities”.