Independent HK journalist Tang Ho-wing released on bail following sedition arrest

A Hong Kong independent journalist arrested on Wednesday for allegedly acting “with seditious intent” has been released on bail.

Media outlet The Witness reported that 37-year-old Tang Ho-wing, known by his online moniker “Boomhead,” left Yau Ma Tei Police Station shortly after midnight on Friday after being detained for almost two days.

HKFP was able to reach Tang by phone on Friday morning. He said he had no comment regarding his arrest.

Tang is the first publicly known journalist arrested for sedition under Hong Kong’s 2024 homegrown security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known locally as Article 23, according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA).

He was seen being escorted in handcuffs by national security police officers to a van from a Jordan residential building on Wednesday morning, images published by local media outlet Sing Tao Daily showed.

Activist Lee Ying-chi, 58, was also arrested on Wednesday, according to local media reports. HKFP’s calls to Lee on Friday did not go through.

8 arrested

The arrests were part of a series of operations linked to an incident on August 31 outside Prince Edward metro station, police said in a statement.

That evening, “some people were standing outside MTR Prince Edward Station holding bouquets and shouting seditious slogans,” police said, adding that they were suspected of “spreading false information and attacking the [Hong Kong government] with lies.”

Three people – two men and a woman aged 33 to 79 – were arrested on September 3, while another man and two women aged 46 to 65 were apprehended between September 27 and 28 over the same offence, the police said. All six have been released on bail.

In total, eight people have been arrested over the incident, and the police did not rule out further arrests.

Local media reported earlier, citing anonymous police sources, that reporters from “anti-government” online media outlets had broadcast the event live while holding a yellow umbrella.

August 31 incident

Tang, who runs the online media outlet Boom News, is known for his big hair and has about 200,000 followers across multiple social media platforms. His coverage tends to focus on Hong Kong’s socio-political issues while also featuring international reporting.

On August 31, 2019, as Hong Kong was embroiled in months-long pro-democracy protests and unrest, baton-wielding riot police stormed Prince Edward MTR station following hours of protest clashes.

Officers were filmed pepper-spraying people in carriages as they drove away reporters and medics.

Rumours of civilian deaths emerged after the incident, despite there being no evidence for such claims and consistent denials from police.

On the same day every year since then, some individuals have gathered outside the station, bringing flowers and shouting slogans, to mark the anniversary.

Tang posted a video on social media from outside the station showing activists chanting “August 31” on this year’s anniversary. He did not host a livestream that evening.

The HKJA expressed deep concern over Tang’s arrest and demanded that the authorities disclose the specific allegations against the independent journalist.

“If journalists can be arrested merely for reporting on-site or because their coverage diverges from the official narrative, all frontline reporters will inevitably bear the same risks when covering public events in the future,” the press union said in a statement.

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