Hong Kong 's national security police arrested seven people on Wednesday morning.- They include staff for pro-Democracy outlet Stand
News and pop star Denise Ho, a former board member.
Hong Kong's national security police arrested seven people on Wednesday morning, including a pop star and at least five pro-democracy journalists as an independent news site was forced to shut down.
Those arrested — three men and four women — are accused of "conspiracy to publish seditious material" via their work with Stand News, one of Hong Kong's last pro-democracy media outlets, BBC News reported.
The accusation was made under Hong Kong's National Security Law, sweeping legislation brought in to crack down on the city's pro-democracy movement.
One of the arrestees is Denise Ho, a famous Cantopop singer who played an active role advocating for
She was also formerly a board member of Stand News — the outlet targeted in the early morning raid.
More than 200 police officers were sent to raid the publication's office on Wednesday, the Hong Kong government said in a press release. They detained both current and former employees.
Those arrested include the former and acting chief editors of Stand News, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam. Board members Margaret Ng, Christine Fang, and Chow Tat-chi, were also detained, per the BBC.
The identity of the seventh person has not yet been reported.
"This morning, the police arrested a number of senior and former senior staff of the company, [and] took many people away to assist in the investigation," Stand News said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Computers and documents were seized from the office, the statement said.
Stand shut down operations and all staff were dismissed, BBC reported.
Police said their warrant was issued under the National Security Law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in response to the huge pro-democracy protests of 2019, The Financial Times said.
The law criminalizes "secessionism", "subversion", "terrorism", and "foreign collusion." Since it was implemented in June 2020, the Hong Kong Free Press says it has been used to arrest over 150 people.
Many others in Hong Kong have fled the city or ceased their advocacy, fearing retaliation under the law.
BBC News reported that John Lee, Hong Kong's chief secretary, said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that he supported the police operation against Stand News.
He told reporters that there would be "zero tolerance of behavior that threatens national security."