Hong Kong authorities have urged residents to immediately uninstall the Taiwanese video game “Reversed Front: Bonfire,” the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported Wednesday. The game promotes secessionist ideas and aims to “provoke hatred” against the Chinese government and the Hong Kong administration.
Hong Kong police warned on Tuesday that the game, “under the guise of entertainment,” promotes “armed revolution” and independence for Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Authorities have warned that anyone posting or sharing content related to the game could be charged with inciting secession or subversive activities under both the Beijing-imposed national security law and rights under Article 23 of the mini-constitution.
The game's plot, which was no longer available in app stores on Wednesday, allows players to take on the roles of representatives of Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and the Uighurs in order to “overthrow the communist regime.”
In the game, the communists are described as “ruling with an iron fist, inept and inconsistent” and accused of “widespread corruption, embezzlement, exploitation and massacres.” The developers also include a disclaimer that “any resemblance to agencies, policies or ethnic groups of the People's Republic of China is INTENTIONAL.”
The game's creators reported on Facebook that after the ban was announced, they saw a sharp increase in interest in their product.
The national security law imposed by the PRC in June 2020 in response to massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 has drastically curtailed what observers say is Hong Kong’s autonomy, as well as freedom of speech and assembly in the former British colony. At least 290 people have been arrested under the law, and dozens of civil society and media organizations have been forced to cease operations.
In March 2024, the Hong Kong authorities, citing the need to “plug loopholes” in the law, introduced a new, even harsher law under Article 23, which provides for life imprisonment for, among others, high treason and sabotage.
From Beijing Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)
krp/ ap/
