Hong Kong may ban 2 ‘subversive’ groups based in Canada and Taiwan

The Hong Kong government is considering enacting a ban on any local operation of two “subversive” groups based in Canada and Taiwan on national security grounds.

The move against the Canada-based “Hong Kong Parliament” and Taiwan-based “Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union” came after a local court sentenced a woman earlier this month to a year in jail for promoting the former and breaching the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

“The two organisations in question aim to subvert state power,” a spokesman for the Security Bureau said on Monday. “Their objectives include promoting ‘self-determination’ and making the ‘Hong Kong Constitution’.

“[Their intentions also included] overthrowing or undermining the basic system of the People’s Republic of China established by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China or overthrowing the body of central power of the People’s Republic of China or the body of power of the Hong Kong .”

The spokesman said that the secretary for security might “prohibit the operation or continued operation of the organisation” by an order published in the Government Gazette.

There were “reasonable grounds” for the secretary to believe that the prohibition would be necessary to safeguard national security, he said, and the two groups would be allowed to make representations before a final decision was made.