Hong Kong Internet service provider Hong Kong Broadband said Thursday it shut down a Web site after police issued a ban, the first time a Hong Kong Internet provider has admitted to blocking a site under the National Security Law since the law took effect in late June last year. The site that was reportedly shut down was “Hong Kong Chronicle.
AFP reports that unlike mainland China, Hong Kongers have always had unhindered access to the Internet, but critics in Beijing fear the National Security Law will end that freedom.
Last week, Internet users in Hong Kong noticed that they could not access the Hong KongChronicles website from certain computers. In an open letter posted on the site, editor-in-chief and administrator Yan-Yin Chan said, “Since the evening of January 6, 2021, we have received reports from users in Hong Kong that they are unable to connect to this site when using the services of some Hong Kong Internet providers. After reviewing statistics, they also found that the number of users from Hong Kong had dropped significantly. Various speculations about the status of the site’s service have also surfaced on the Internet at ……”
The letter pointed out that “after communication and investigation with the supporters of this site, it was found that some network providers in Hong Kong deliberately discarded the information transmitted by users when handling requests to connect to this site, so that users could not get a reply from the server of this site and thus could not view the content of this site, and other websites sharing the same IP address with this site were also affected to a certain extent. As reflected by various users, the network providers involved in blocking this site include Smartone, CMHK, HKBN, PCCW, etc.”
The letter continues, “Based on these indications and evidence, there is reason to believe that the Hong Kong ISPs have taken the initiative to block the content of this site, and that this may involve requests or cooperation from government departments. Chen Yan Yan condemns Hong Kong Internet providers for conspiring with the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to stifle Hong Kong citizens’ freedom of access to information by blocking the Internet. At the same time, she called on the people of Hong Kong to prepare for the darkness before dawn in anticipation of a larger blocking campaign.”
AFP reported that the Hong Kong police had been refusing to comment on the issue, but on Thursday, Hong Kong Broadband Network, the city’s largest Internet provider, finally admitted to stop connecting to the sites in question. In an announcement, the company stressed that the practice was in line with the National Security Law.
The “Hong Kong Chronicle” is still accessible from overseas and Hong Kong via a virtual private network. The controversial website, which has collected accounts and images of the massive pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019, pays particular attention to allegations of excessive police violence and lists companies that support the pro-democracy movement, according to the report. The website began collecting personal data on police officers when they began taking down badges used to identify them during clashes with protesters – a tactic known as “Doxing. Doxing police officers’ personal information is illegal in Hong Kong.
There are other websites in Hong Kong that provide similar information about pro-democracy activists.
AFP notes that in mainland China, access to the site is restricted due to the “firewall” of the Internet. Content on Chinese social networks can be deleted or censored. Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous territory that was once outside of the system, making it an international business center. Last June, Beijing imposed tough national security laws to end the protests.
Hong Kong’s Apple Daily reported that Article 43(4) of the National Security Law allows the police to require the sender of a message or relevant service provider to “remove the message or provide assistance” when investigating a national security case, while Schedule 4 of the Rules for the Implementation of Article 43 of the National Security Law details that the Commissioner of Police can make a removal or prohibition request if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has posted an electronic message on an electronic platform that is “likely to constitute” or “likely to result in” a crime against national security.
Apple Daily reported that the blocking action had been reported earlier to have linked hundreds of websites sharing the same IP address with the Hong Kong Chronicle, but the latest tests showed that these websites had been reopened by network providers such as Hong Kong Broadband, PCCW, China Mobile and SmarTone, while the Hong Kong Chronicle continued to be blocked, reflecting that network providers had mastered more precise blocking techniques that could target a single website within the same IP.
On the site was confirmed by the National Security Law blocked, “Hong Kong Chronicle” replied that the Hong Kong government is trying to test the acceptance of Hong Kong people to block the network and technical testing, I believe that in the future, the Office of National Security or more reasons to require ISPs to block all types of websites on a large scale, in Hong Kong to build a great firewall.
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