Weaponising Rumours to Wreck Hong Kong’s Election is a Criminal Offence

As the election day gets closer, the volume from the rumour mill and smear campaigns is clearly being turned up.

Among the latest claims doing the rounds is a story that a company is paying HK$150 per head to “hire voters” for the Legislative Council election on December 7,  and even demanding they take photos as proof after casting their ballots, which has triggered a wave of anti-government comments online.

In response, the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR has issued its third statement on the matter, stressing that certain people inside and outside Hong Kong keep changing tactics in order to smear the Legislative Council election.

A spokesperson for the Office pointed out that some anti‑China, destablising-Hong Kong elements and internal forces have not abandoned their malicious intentions or wicked ambitions,  and are still openly and covertly inciting people to boycott the election and stirring up disruptive activities both online and offline.

The Office has made clear it will take a zero‑tolerance approach in defending national security and, in accordance with the law, will severely punish any acts or activities that interfere with or sabotage the election and endanger national security.

Looking carefully at the online posts, it is obvious that the National Security Office’s statement hits the target.

Take the above‑mentioned post about so‑called “paid voting”, offering HK$150 per person to get people to vote and then take a photo as evidence – its source was unclear and the whole setup was already rather bizarre from the start.

Twisting “Paid Voting” Into a Weapon

When the media asked the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) about this, its spokesperson explained that the activity was purely to promote the election, without inducing voters to vote or not vote for particular candidates, and therefore it is not restricted by the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.

At the same time, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data reminded the public to first find out the purpose of any data collection and to pay attention to whether the related information is genuine.

Yet on the forums where this piece of news was reposted, some comments seized the chance to add fuel to the fire and attack the government, while others simply fabricated rumours.

One example was a comment claiming that “According to Section 11 of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, any person who, without reasonable excuse, offers a benefit to another person to induce or reward that person or a third party to vote or not to vote in an election commits an offence.”

As soon as this post appeared, it encouraged many people to rush out and condemn the government and the ICAC, arguing that since the ordinance “clearly” bans offering benefits to induce others to vote, how could the ICAC possibly say that encouraging voting is not restricted by the law.

However, simply checking Section 11 of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance is enough to show that its content is completely different from what the commenter wrote.

Section 11 targets corrupt conduct involving bribery of voters or others in an election, and makes it an offence for any person, without reasonable excuse, to offer a benefit to another person as an inducement for that person to vote for a particular candidate.

When Fake Law Becomes a Political Tool

In reality, Section 11 is about “offers an advantage to another person as an inducement to vote at the election for a particular candidate or particular candidates”, not “offering a benefit to another person to vote” in general.

The commenter deliberately rewrote the law, changing its original ban on offering benefits to get people “to vote for a particular candidate” into a supposed ban on offering benefits just to get people “to vote”, which is an obvious attempt to manufacture a rumour.

That comment then triggered a flood of insults against the ICAC.

In fact, this kind of deliberate fabrication of legal content is already suspected of breaching the offence of seditious intention under Article 24 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

Article 24 makes clear that a seditious intention includes the intention to incite hatred or contempt against the executive, legislative or judicial authorities of the HKSAR.

By inventing the content of the ordinance and then accusing the ICAC of failing to enforce the law, the commenter stirs up hatred against the ICAC and is therefore suspected of committing the offence of seditious intention.

Are the flood of specious messages appearing online, the doctored legal provisions and the calls to hate the government and to refuse to vote on December 7 just casual off‑the‑cuff remarks, or are they deliberate acts of incitement?

Don’t Play With Legal Fire Online

Even if an ordinary person wanted to criticise the government, it is unlikely they would spend the time and effort to rewrite the content of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, which makes this behaviour particularly suspicious.

Now that the National Security Office has spoken out in advance and warned that it will, in accordance with the law, severely punish all acts intended to interfere with or sabotage the election, this already serves as a serious and timely warning.

These individuals are intentionally spreading false information aimed squarely at the election, and it is highly likely that the posters or commenters are not physically in Hong Kong.

They maliciously attack the city’s system while confidently assuming the government will find it hard to hold them to account.

The real problem is that if any people in Hong Kong foolishly forward such content online, and even call on others to attack the government or boycott the election by refusing to vote, they can very easily end up breaking the law.

Clearly, attempts to attack Hong Kong’s election are no simple matter, and others should not casually chime in and “test the law by themselves”.

Lo Wing-hung

Bastille Commentary

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

At the arrival of 2026, the happiest thing is to see the "Hong Kong is dead" narrative—proclaimed so loudly by Western voices—die yet again.

Foreign Money Returns Home

The West has written Hong Kong's obituary more times than you can count. They believed the city's return to China should have been its death sentence. American magazine Fortune declared "The Death of Hong Kong" on its 1995 cover—two years before the handover even happened. Hong Kong survived the Asian financial turmoil in the early post-handover years. It survived SARS. Then came 2019's Black Riots, followed by US sanctions on Hong Kong officials in 2020 and the pandemic's hammer blow. Foreign capital fled in an American-orchestrated exodus, with much of it landing in Singapore.

Last February, Stephen Roach—Yale University senior fellow—wrote in the UK's Financial Times with a headline that said it all: "It pains me to say Hong Kong is over." Foreign investors don't just track economic growth when they assess Hong Kong. They watch the stock market. And over the past year, Hong Kong's miraculous stock market comeback has bankrupted the "Hong Kong is dead" theory.

Hong Kong's economy grew an estimated 3.2% in 2025—ranking it among the developed world's top performers. But the stock market performance was getting really interesting. Average daily turnover in the first 11 months hit HK$230.7 billion—a massive 43% jump compared to 2024's same period.

Record-Breaking Fundraising Wins

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange crushed it in 2025. A total of 119 new listings raised HK$285.8 billion—a staggering 220% year-on-year increase and the highest since 2021. According to KPMG's report, HKEX ranked first globally in fundraising. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq tied for second place. Looking ahead, HKEX's fundraising is estimated to reach HK$300-350 billion in 2026, keeping it among the world's top exchanges.

Sure, Mainland capital is investing in Hong Kong. But foreign capital's return has been the real game-changer behind the stock market's strong performance. According to fund industry insiders, what we're seeing now is only wave one—primarily hedge funds and other medium-to-short-term players. As Hong Kong's trading volumes swell and quality Mainland companies list here, the long-term foreign funds will gradually return. The outlook for Hong Kong stocks continues to look favorable.

America's narrative said Hong Kong's National Security Law would scare capital away. Reality proved exactly the opposite. Hong Kong's stable environment gave Chinese companies the confidence to list here. America's targeting of Chinese concept stocks listed on its exchanges was self-destruction—forcing quality Chinese companies to turn to Hong Kong for listing instead. This made Hong Kong's stock market bigger and stronger, compelling even bearish foreign capital to come back.

Beijing's Seal of Approval

President Xi's remarks when meeting Chief Executive John Lee during his duty visit to Beijing in mid-December reveal what work the central government values in Hong Kong. President Xi opened with praise for the Chief Executive's courage and initiative in leading the SAR government. He highlighted four key achievements: steadfast maintenance of national security, successful Legislative Council elections, proactive integration into national development, and achieving steady economic growth.

President Xi's assessment underscores Beijing's high recognition of Hong Kong's ability to do both—safeguard national security and develop the economy simultaneously. Some Hong Kong people believed that having transitioned "from chaos to governance and then to prosperity," the city should set aside national security to focus on economic development. Reality proved this view wrong. Hong Kong must strike a balance between these seemingly contradictory goals and advance on both fronts at once.

Look at Hong Kong's development over the past five years. The city emerged from Black Riots and the pandemic in 2021, achieving a strong rebound from the bottom in 2023. The return to normalcy brought revenge spending that temporarily elevated market sentiment.

But entering 2024, local consumption patterns underwent structural changes. Hong Kong people shopping across the border diverted local retail spending. The strong Hong Kong dollar—tracking the US dollar—and high interest rates suppressed economic activity, leading to structural adjustment.

By the second half of 2025, Hong Kong entered a phase of moderate recovery. The property market began stabilizing after its decline. With the US starting rate cuts in September, capital supply loosened. Hong Kong can continue along this recovery path in 2026—that's the estimate anyway.

Despite the optimism, Hong Kong people must keep working hard. The many vacant shops you see on the streets tell the story—retail economy pressure remains real. In 2024, Hong Kong's total retail sales value of HK$376.8 billion represented a 7.3% year-on-year decline. That's painful for the retail sector.

Retail's Reversal Ahead

Through October 2025, retail sales values remained comparable to the previous year. But consumption began recovering in the second half—retail sales value rose 3.8% in August, 6% in September, and 6.9% in October. 2025 showed an early decline followed by growth, with accelerating consumption momentum. Retail consumption is expected to reverse its decline in 2026.

During this retail transformation, we Hong Kong people must continue their efforts. Old businesses will still be eliminated—that's inevitable. Strategic adjustments are required. New opportunities must be pursued.

Bottom line: Hong Kong's economic performance in 2025 proves once again that the "Hong Kong is dead" theory dies—one more time. Hong Kong has weathered different shocks repeatedly in the past, emerging reborn each time like a phoenix from the ashes.

 

Lo Wing Hung