Hong Kong has issued a warning against the Wall Street Journal, alleging that it may have broken electoral law in a recent editorial about the upcoming legislative council elections.  

On Monday, the US newspaper published an opinion piece, showing a letter from Hong Kong’s Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Erick Tsang, under the headline “Hong Kong Issues a Threat to the WSJ.”

Mr Tsang had written to The Journal that the editorial contained “baseless assumptions,” and was “not only incorrect but also scaremongering.”

“Please be advised that inciting another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote, by activity in public during an election period is an offense,” Mr Tsang wrote, adding, “We reserve the right to take necessary action.”

In the piece, the Journal described the city’s upcoming elections as a “sham,” and that “boycotts and blank ballots are one of the last ways for Hong Kongers to express their political views.”

The elections set for December 19 was initially to hold last year, but it was postponed by the government, who raised concerns about the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hong Kong’s laws stipulate that the Legislative Council terms are limited to four years. Chief Executive Carrie Lam had to invoke a colonial-era emergency regulations ordinance to postpone the local elections. 

In the offending piece, the Journal alleged that  the government had moved the legislative elections because “during the November 2019 district council elections, Hong Kongers humiliated China by voting in record numbers to elect pro-democracy candidates.”

In response, Mr Tsang rejected the claim, saying that the delay had been due to “the public health risk posed by Covid-19, not because of the result of the district council election.”

China has been tightening its grip on Hong Kong in recent years, after months of mass protests by pro-democracy activists in 2019.

China introduced the national security law in Hong Kong in response to the  pro-democracy protests, stripping Hong Kong of its judicial autonomy and making it easier for demonstrators and activists to be prosecuted.

The law criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces with the maximum sentence being life in prison. The law was enacted in June, and has enabled the arrest of more than 100 people. 

Individuals established as pro-democracy opposition figures have either been imprisoned, fled abroad, been prohibited from standing or have refused to take part in the December 19 polls.

In June, Peoples Gazette reported how Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper, announced its closure after a crackdown by authorities.