Hong Kong Police Warn ‘Seditious’ Taiwan Game May Breach Security Law
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A Taiwanese mobile phone game that allows users to play the role of groups opposing the ruling communist regime in China may flout Hong Kong’s draconian security laws, the city’s police warned on June 10.
The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force said in a statement that downloading the game “Reversed Front: Bonfire” on a mobile platform may constitute a violation of the city’s national security laws.
Created by ESC Taiwan, the strategy mobile game app allows players to portray themselves in various groups, some of which are fictional, opposing the communist regime.
“Players can choose to pledge allegiance to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Tibet, Kazakhs, Uyghur, Manchuria or the Rebel Alliance of Cathaysian and Southeast Asia to overthrow the Communist regime!” the app’s website says of the game.
The app also allows players to choose the role of the communist regime in the game.
“Or you can choose to lead the Communists to defeat all enemies, and resume the century-long march of the Communist revolution to the other side of the land and sea!” the website says.
The police statement said that publishing, sharing, or recommending the game or related content may violate the Hong Kong National Security Law, specifically offenses such as “inciting secession” and “inciting subversion of state power.”
It may also breach “related crimes of incitement” under the “Safeguarding National Security Ordinance”, commonly referred to as “Article 23”.
The police department further warned that downloading the game may be regarded as possessing a publication with seditious intent.
“Citizens should not download the app or subsidize the relevant developers in any way. If anyone has downloaded the app, they should delete it immediately and do not test the law,” the police statement said.
However, the police’s statement has resulted in a surge in the games’ popularity and a significant increase in downloads. As of midnight on the same day as the police statement, it topped the list of free games on the Apple App Store in Hong Kong. But the game can no longer be downloaded on Google Play.
As of June 12, Hong Kong time, the game remains available via the Apple App Store, which prompted Hong Kong Executive Council member Ronnie Tong Ka-wah to tell local media that if Apple knows that the game is illegal and still refuses to remove it, it could be considered as “aiding subversion of state power.”
The game’s developers posted several times on their X account about how the police’s stance on their game has aided with its publicity. “Thank you, my dear premier, for the arrows,” one post said, citing an allusion from “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” to satirize Hong Kong’s national security department for providing free publicity for the game.
Clampdown on Freedom of Speech
After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020, the city’s freedoms of speech and publication have been significantly tightened, with websites, songs, and games being banned one after another.Well-known examples include the song “Glory to Hong Kong” being issued an injunction by the court, and public libraries removing a sizable quantity of publications, including books written by democratic politicians and those related to modern Chinese history.
Many overseas websites have also been banned, including the website “Hong Kong Chronicles,” which documents Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement, and the British human rights group Hong Kong Watch.
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