Hong Kong national security police arrest Boom News founder, release him on bail after nearly two days

Full report

Update (October 2, 2026): Hong Kong independent media and on-scene reporting confirmed that Tang Ho-wing and Lee Ying-chi were released on bail and left police stations in the early hours of October 2 after nearly two days in custody. The investigation remains open, and neither person has been found guilty by a court. Police have not publicly disclosed the specific bail conditions or any formal charging document.[6][7]

Hong Kong police said late on September 30 that the National Security Department had arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of acts carried out with seditious intent. Police linked the case to people holding flowers and chanting outside Prince Edward MTR station on August 31 and to what authorities described as the dissemination of false information. The statement did not name the detainees or specify the individual conduct alleged against each person.[1]

The Associated Press, the South China Morning Post, HK01 and other Hong Kong outlets identified the male detainee as 37-year-old independent journalist Tang Ho-wing, founder of Boom News. The SCMP cited a source as saying he was arrested early that morning; HK01 described Boom News as a social-media-based outlet focused on street reporting and livestreaming. Some outlets identified the second detainee through unnamed sources, but police had not confirmed that identity in their public statement.[1][2][3]

The Associated Press reported that the Hong Kong Journalists Association described Tang's detention as the first publicly known arrest of a journalist for alleged sedition under the 2024 ordinance. The association asked police to disclose the specific alleged acts and clarify whether the arrest was directly related to Tang's journalistic duties, noting that livestreaming is a way to document events as they unfold.[1]

Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrest the same day and placed it in the context of a shrinking space for independent journalism in Hong Kong. At this stage, the arrests, the police allegation, Tang's role as a journalist and the subsequent release of both detainees on bail are confirmed. The complete evidence, the precise alleged conduct and any formal charging document have not been made public, and no court has ruled on the allegation. China Rights Record will follow charging and court developments.[4][5][6][7]

Update (October 2, 2026): Human Rights Watch said on October 2 that Hong Kong's National Security Police announced on October 1 that eight people had been arrested in September for alleged sedition — accused of holding bouquets and shouting seditious slogans outside Prince Edward station on August 31, which police described as spreading false information and inciting hatred against the government. HRW confirmed those arrested included citizen journalist Tang Ho-wing, who covered the gathering for Boom News, and activist Lee Ying-chi, whom police had stopped and warned before she reached the station. HRW noted Hong Kong's sedition prosecutions have a 100 percent conviction rate and that the broadly defined offense requires no proof of violent intent; authorities have prosecuted people for writing news articles, publishing children's books, posting online criticism of the government and wearing T-shirts with banned protest slogans. HRW said the arrests underscore the authorities' refusal to independently investigate police use of force at Prince Edward station on August 31, 2019. These assessments are HRW's; police have not released complete evidence or formal charging documents.[8]