Screenshot from Flow HK. Fair use.

This report was published in Hong Kong Free Press on October 8, 2024. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement.

A US web-hosting company has been issued a notice by Hong Kong police asking it to take down the website of Flow HK, a media outlet co-founded by pro-democracy activists who have left the city, on national security grounds.

Automattic, the company behind web content management system WordPress, told HKFP on October 7 2024 that it had received a take-down demand from Hong Kong authorities relating to the website of Flow HK. The company said it had not complied with the order and had notified the site owner.

In an emailed reply to HKFP, Sunny Cheung — one of the co-founders of Flow HK — said Hong Kong police had said the outlet was suspected of violating a national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 and a separate security law enacted in March, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known locally as Article 23.

Cheung said police suspected Flow HK of committing offences including secession, subversion, and collusion under the Beijing-imposed security law, as well as sedition under Article 23.

Police told HKFP by email on October 8 they “will take appropriate actions where necessary according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law.”

Cheung, who is also an editor at the outlet, called the authorities’ move “highly unreasonable” and said the publication “will not be intimidated.” Cheung said,

Flow HK is a media platform committed to promoting Hong Kong story, identity and culture, offering not only news commentary but also book and Hong Kong movie reviews…. It will continue to uphold its principles as a citizen media outlet by maintaining high standards in its investigations and reporting.

Cheung was issued an arrest warrant by a Hong Kong court for failing to attend a hearing in October 2020 after he left the city earlier that year amid “security concerns” following the enactment of the Beijing-imposed security law. The hearing was in relation to a charge he faced over a vigil to remember the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

The city’s anti-corruption watchdog later reported him wanted on suspicion of inciting people to cast a blank or invalid vote during the 2021 Legislative Council election.

At the time of writing, the Flow HK website could not be accessed in Hong Kong using internet services provided by major telecommunication companies including Hong Kong Broadband (HKBN), 3 Hong Kong, China Mobile, and SmarTone.

Errors such as “timed out request” and “connection refused” were shown when trying to access the website on phone or on a computer.

However, some users of internet services provided by Hong Kong Telecom were able to access the website.

HKBN, China Mobile, SmarTone, and 3 Hong Kong’s parent company Hutchison Telecommunications did not respond to emailed enquiries by HKFP.

Flow HK was founded in early 2021. According to its mission written in Chinese on the website, the publication aims to connect the Hong Kong diaspora and “pass on the torch of resistance.”

Other editorial members include wanted activist Ray Wong, an ex-leader of political group Hong Kong Indigenous who was granted political asylum in Germany in 2018, as well as digital rights activist Glacier Kwong, who also lives in Germany.