London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

4 more arrested on suspicion of inciting boycott of Hong Kong’s Legco poll

4 more arrested on suspicion of inciting boycott of Hong Kong’s Legco poll

Meanwhile, overseas calls for a boycott continued, with fugitive activist Sunny Cheung urging voters to ‘shame the regime’ by staying home on Sunday.

Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency has arrested four more people accused of inciting others to skip Sunday’s Legislative Council poll or cast blank ballots, as overseas calls for an outright boycott continued.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday detained three men and one woman, aged 22 to 58, for allegedly breaching the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, which was amended earlier this year to outlaw publicly “inciting another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote” during an election period.

If convicted, the suspects face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a HK$200,000 (US$25,600) fine.

Authorities seized a number of mobile phones and two computers during the arrests, and the four suspects have since been released on bail, according to a spokesman for the ICAC, who did not rule out further enforcement actions.

Headquarters of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong.


Wednesday’s operation, which took the total number of people arrested for the offence to 10, came the same day that fugitive activist Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang – who is seeking asylum in the United States – urged residents to “shame the regime” by staying home on Sunday.

“On the day of the election parade carefully curated by the Chinese Community Party, Hongkongers should treat it with indifference and absenteeism to shame the regime,” Cheung wrote in a Facebook post shared by about 100 users.

The ICAC has previously issued arrest warrants for fugitive ex-lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung and a former district councillor, now settled in Australia and Britain, respectively, over social media posts urging voters to either cast invalid ballots or skip the poll altogether.

The Legco election will be the first citywide poll since Beijing revamped Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure only “patriots” held power. Mainstream opposition parties have snubbed the election, which they argue is designed to exclude dissenting voices.

The government has sought to drum up enthusiasm for the race amid predictions of low turnout and surveys showing widespread voter apathy. In an unprecedented move, the government has announced that MTR, bus and tram rides would be free on election day.

Meanwhile, in the private sector, KPMG – one of the world’s four largest professional services firms, with operations in 29 cities in mainland China – appeared to become the first major company known to have offered an extra day off to its Hong Kong staff if they vote on Sunday.

The policy was aimed at encouraging colleagues to exercise their “right and privilege to vote”, according to a leaked internal email purportedly sent out by the firm’s human resources department on Tuesday.

“In order to apply for the extra day-off, colleagues who have voted will be asked to complete a simple online application to indicate that they are eligible voters and have voted on 19 December,” it read.

The Post could not independently verify the authenticity of the email, and has approached KPMG and the government for comment on the offer.

Another member of the so-called Big Four, Deloitte, would not be following suit, though it did promote election participation internally as “a socially responsible organisation”, said Edward Au, the firm’s China southern region managing partner.

Beijing’s electoral overhaul expanded Legco membership from 70 to 90, while simultaneously reducing the number of directly elected seats from 35 to 20. Thirty seats will be returned by mostly trade-based functional constituencies, while 40 will be hand-picked by the newly empowered Election Committee, which is stacked with Beijing loyalists.

All candidates running for seats were required to first pass a vetting mechanism led by government officials and secure nominations from the Election Committee.

Perceptions that the overhaul was intended to effectively shut out opposition candidates prompted the camp to stay away from the poll, and have motivated calls for election boycotts online.

Pro-Beijing heavyweight and Election Committee member Lo Man-tuen on Wednesday made a public appeal for supporters of the pro-establishment camp to consider supporting centrist candidates to ensure diversity in the legislature.

Writing in Ming Pao, Lo said a shutout victory by the traditional pro-establishment camp would be a “trap” that would only provide fodder for critics.

“This is ‘good material’ for the Western forces hoping to attack the new electoral system for being ‘homogenous’,” said Lo, who is vice-chair of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

Separately, Barnabas Fung Wah, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, headed the first meeting of the Crisis Management Committee, in which he was briefed by representatives of the police force and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, among other departments, on plans for the polling.

Meanwhile, the city’s security minister Chris Tang Ping-keung said police would be on the alert for potential lone-wolf terrorist attacks or other possible interruptions on election day.

In an interview aired on Wednesday on RTHK TV31 programme Overview Policy, Tang pledged law enforcers would step up patrols on streets, and quick-response teams would also be deployed to deal with emergencies.

“There are several aspects of risks that we need to look at. First, there is domestic terrorism, including lone-wolf attacks … This actually did happen, not too long ago, on July 1,” said Tang, referring to a knife assault on a police officer on July 1.

A lone attacker that day had stabbed a policeman, seriously injuring the officer before plunging the knife into his chest. The assailant later died.

“There could also be interruptions at polling stations,” Tang added, citing blockages to prevent voters from entering facilities, or disturbance to those who wanted to vote.

“On election day, there will of course be security arrangements. There will be uniformed officers but we are not going to send a lot of them to stand [at the polling stations]. We shall have quick-response teams on standby.

“At some strategic locations, we shall also step up stop-and-search [operations] on suspicious persons. This is to target lone-wolf attacks. Such attacks are more difficult to prevent by means of monitoring intelligence.”

He also warned people not to engage in illegal activities, even if gatherings were termed “soft resistance”, such as calls for some to boycott the race or to besiege polling stations.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×