China's national flag and a flag of HKSAR are reflected in a window of a building at a shopping district in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, on June 30, 2020. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government made it clear that display or possession of items bearing words that translate into English as "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" would be deemed illegal and urged people not to break the law. 

In a press statement issued late Thursday, a government spokesman said the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" nowadays connoted "Hong Kong independence", or separating the HKSAR from the People's Republic of China, altering the legal status of the HKSAR, or subverting the State power.

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A government spokesman said the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" nowadays connoted "Hong Kong independence"

The spokesman said in the statement that the HKSAR government strongly condemned any acts "which challenge the sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity of the People's Republic of China. The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region prohibits secession, subversion of state power and other acts and activities which endanger national security". 

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The government had said earlier Thursday that banners and chants calling for “Hong Kong independence” were now illegal. The latest statement makes it clear that that prohibition also applied to the more widely used “Liberate Hong Kong!” slogan.

Hong Kong police arrested 370 people at protests on July 1, the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to motherland. Ten were detained under provisions of the newly promulgated national security law.