In a statement issued on Monday, the Hong Kong government expressed its strong condemnation of self-exiled activist Ted Hui Chi-fung, accusing him of intimidating government officials and obstructing the course of justice by calling for the doxxing of public officers involved in his case. It appears that Hui had disseminated a list of those officers and encouraged the public to distribute their personal details [Official Statement].
The activist also called upon foreign governments to impose sanctions on these officers, a move the government argues could be seen as “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” under Article 29 of the Hong Kong National Security Law. According to governmental spokespeople, Hui’s actions highlight the need for local security legislation to protect public officers and their families from such threats as doxxing and harassment, as covered in Article 23 of the Basic Law.
In his defense, Hui declared that all the information he shared via social media could be obtained from the public domain of the Government Telephone Directory. He further argued that the names of public officers in themselves do not constitute personal information.
Hui, a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, has been sought after by the Hong Kong government since July 2023 for suspect offenses including “incitement to secession”, “incitement to subversion”, and the aforementioned “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” under the National Security Law [JURIST]. The Hong Kong Police Force believes that he was involved in launching the 2021 Hong Kong Charter seeking repeal of the National Security Law in favor of Hong Kong and Taiwan’s democratic self-determination.
Earlier in February, Hui had dealt with a bankruptcy petition filed against him by the Hong Kong Department of Justice for his failure to settle legal costs owed to the government in line with a court order. The court granted him a default judgment due to his absence from the hearing [The WitnessHK].