The application form for holding charitable flag day fundraisers in Hong Kong has been updated to warn organisers not to use proceedings for acts or activities contrary to national security, otherwise they risk having their permits revoked.
As the one-month application period for flag selling between April 2024 and March 2025 opened on Monday, the application form was found to have additional national security clauses.
Permits – either from the Director of Social Welfare or the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs – are legally required for those who seek to collect money in public.
The newly-added terms stated that the Social Welfare Department (SWD) “may immediately revoke” the Flag Day Permit if an organisation “has engaged or is engaging in acts or activities that are likely to constitute or cause the occurrence of offences endangering national security or which would otherwise be contrary to the interest of national security.”
The same would apply if the hiring of contractors was contrary to the interests of national security. Applicants might also lose their permit if the government “reasonably believes” these situations were about to happen, the application form read.
Responding to HKFP’s enquiries on Thursday, the SWD said it had already made it clear on last year’s form that organisations were not allowed to use the funds raised to conduct or support acts or activities that were illegal or “contrary to the interests of national security.”
The department said it updated the clauses to “provide a more specific explanation of the relevant requirements,” adding that it had not found any organisations who have breached such terms.
Legal requirement
The additional national security clauses came after China’s top official for Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, said in a keynote speech on Saturday that there were no “outsiders” when it came to safeguarding national security, and “everyone should spontaneously take part in it.”
Last month, the leader of pro-democracy League of Social Democrats, Chan Po-ying, was fined HK$1,000 for collecting donations for her fellow remanded party members without a permit at street booths.
In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.
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