Hong Kong police invoke security law to censor online posts

HONG KONG -- The organizers of Hong Kong's annual commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown are deleting the contents of the group's website and social media accounts under order of police.

The move marks the first known instance of the city's police invoking powers granted under the national security law imposed last year by Beijing to eliminate online content if there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect they could pose a security threat.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China said that seven of its leaders had received a police order to remove everything from the group's official website as well as its Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube channels, which together had about 75,000 followers, within seven days of Sept. 10.