Hong Kong think tank raided by police following new security law crackdown

Hong Kong police recently searched the office of an independent political pollster days after China limited the city’s internet freedom under the newly imposed national security law. The raid, which came ahead of the weekend elections, was reportedly conducted on Robert Chung’s Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute. According to reports, police have confirmed the news citing the reason for the raid as a 'possible leak of public information'.

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Police copied information

Chung’s organisation reportedly conducted surveys for an international news agency on how Hong Kong residents saw the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019. The latest survey was conducted in the months of December, March, and June.

On July 11, Hong Kong police officials arrived at Chung’s office following which he “negotiated” with police in a bid to understand the basis of their search warrant. According to reports, the police copied some information from his computer.

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“The police received a report from the public that the computer system of a polling organisation was suspected of being hacked and some personal information of the public was leaked,” Hong Kong police said in a statement.

They confirmed that the investigation was still on and none have been arrested. On the other and, Chung has expressed concerns that the information could be used for other investigations. Meanwhile, commenting on the raid, former Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker Au Nok-hin told international media that the move aimed at primary elections and attempts to instill fear among Hong Kong residents. 

The recently passed national security law, which has been widely opposed in the autonomous region, undermines the 'one nation, two systems' doctrine. Overshadowing Hong Kong's autonomy, the law awards prison sentence to anyone found guilty of secession or subversion.

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Image credit: AP