The National Security Bureau announced today (28th) that a total of 5 women and 1 man were arrested in multiple areas across Hong Kong, including Tai Lam Centre for Women, aged between 37 and 65, for suspected violations of Article 24 of the National Security Law, which pertains to “incitement-related offenses.” One of the arrested individuals is Vanessa Zou, the former vice-chairperson of the disbanded Civil Human Rights Front. Reports indicate that other arrested individuals include Zou’s mother, former Civil Human Rights Front committee member Sally Lau, and former district councilor Chan Kin-kan.
According to the police, they conducted searches of the residences of the 5 arrested individuals based on court orders and seized a batch of items related to the case, including electronic communication devices suspected to have been used to disseminate “incitement-related messages.”
The police stated that their investigation revealed that a female individual currently in custody had been posting “incitement” messages anonymously on a social media page since April this year through the assistance of the other 5 arrested individuals, using a forthcoming sensitive date as a focal point for these posts.
The Secretary for Security confirmed during a press briefing that the arrested individuals, including Vanessa Zou, had been utilizing a social media page named “Little Vanessa’s Group Sweepstakes” to continuously publish “incitement-intended posts,” with the aim of encouraging netizens to organize activities that pose threats to national security and engage in illegal acts.
When asked whether the “sensitive date” referred to by the police was June 4, Commissioner of Police Chris Tang stated that “the date itself is not important,” emphasizing that it is the exploitation of relevant issues for incitement that is of concern.
It was found in records that on April 1st this year, Vanessa Zou posted on her Facebook page “Little Vanessa’s Group Sweepstakes,” urging individuals who had participated in commemorating the June 4th incident to provide testimonies or testify in court. The post emphasized that the purpose of such actions was to “record the truth” and not as a defense, urging even those with negative impressions of the Civil Human Rights Front to provide truthful testimonies.
On April 30th, Vanessa Zou posted on the same page, stating that starting from that day for 35 days, she would daily share “35 segments” related to the “35th-anniversary commemoration” of “May 35th,” which would serve both as personal experiences and “testimonies.”
The final post on that page, uploaded at 10:48 PM last night, revolved around the Goddess of Democracy and the 2010 incident where the Civil Human Rights Front displayed a statue of the Goddess of Democracy and the June 4th memorial sculpture outside Times Square in Causeway Bay, which was confiscated by police and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department staff. At that time, the government claimed that the Civil Human Rights Front had not applied for an entertainment license.