Hong Kong’s national security police have a new target in their sights: gamers.
In a stern warning issued Tuesday, they effectively banned a Taiwanese video game they described as “advocating armed revolution,” saying anyone who downloaded or recommended it would face serious legal charges. The move comes as the authorities continue to tighten control over online content they consider a threat to the Chinese city.
“Reversed Front: Bonfire” is an online game of war strategy released by a Taiwanese group. Illustrated in a colorful manga style, players can choose the roles of “propagandists, patrons, spies or guerrillas” from Taiwan, Mongolia and the Chinese territories of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet in plots and simulated battles against China’s ruling Communist Party. Alternatively, players can choose to represent government fighters.
The game was removed from Apple’s app store in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but remains available elsewhere.
But it had already been out of reach for many gamers. It was never available in mainland China and earlier this month Google removed “Reversed Front” from its app store, citing hateful language, according to the developers.
ESC Taiwan is a group of anonymous volunteers who are outspoken against China’s Communist Party. Their products, which include a board game released in 2020, are supported by crowdfunded donations.
The developers said that the removal of the game demonstrated how mobile apps in Hong Kong are subject to the type of political censorship seen in mainland China. “Our game is precisely accusing and revealing such intentions,” the group’s representatives said in an email.
In social media posts, they also thanked the authorities for the free publicity and posted screenshots of the game’s name surging in Google searches. They said the comments and pseudonyms selected by players in the game would not be censored, whether they were in support or in opposition of the Communist Party.
In its statement, the Hong Kong police said the game promoted “secessionist agendas” and was intended to provoke hatred of the government. They said that publishing, recommending and downloading the game, or supporting the online campaigns that funded it, could amount to sedition and incitement to secession under the national security law in Hong Kong, offenses that can lead to jail sentences.
This is not the first time a video game has been used as an avenue for political protest that has incurred the wrath of Chinese authorities. Animal Crossing, an online game were players could build elaborate designs of their own island, was removed from mainland China after players began importing Hong Kong protest slogans into the game.
Even though virtually all forms of dissent in Hong Kong have been quashed, the national security dragnet in the city continues to widen. The authorities have made widespread arrests under the law, which was imposed five years ago in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests.
Last week, Hong Kong authorities laid new national security charges against Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most prominent young activists. Mr. Wong is serving the prison sentence of another national security charge that ends in January 2027.
The authorities last month charged the father of Anna Kwok, an outspoken activist living in Washington, D.C., accusing him of helping handle her financial assets. Ms. Kwok is on a list of people overseas wanted by the Hong Kong police, which has placed bounties on their heads by offering rewards for information that would lead to the their arrest.
