HONG KONG — A mobile game application banned for advocating Hong Kong and Taiwan independence can no longer be found on Apple's App Store, according to checks by the Post, following its earlier removal from the Google Play Store.
Reversed Front: Bonfire, a war-themed game developed by ESC Taiwan and launched in April, did not appear in search results on Wednesday, despite being available for download on the store the previous day.
On Tuesday evening, Hong Kong police warned residents against downloading the application, saying those who did would risk breaking the city's national security laws for possessing a seditious publication.
Authorities invoked a section of the implementation rules under the Beijing-imposed national security law, allowing police to order relevant electronic platforms to remove access to the game.
According to a check by the Post on Tuesday, the Google Play Store suspended access to download the mobile game.
Earlier this month, the game's social media page announced that the application had been taken down from the Google Play Store for the second time for not prohibiting hateful language. It added that players could still download an Android version of the game from its website.
A source told the Post that no arrests had been made in connection with the mobile game so far.
Police have warned against downloading mobile game application “Reversed Front: Bonfire”, which advocates Hong Kong and Taiwan independence. (Photo: Handout)
The force also warned that anyone who provided money or financial help to the game's developer, including making in-app purchases, with the intent to fund acts of secession or subversion of state power, could also risk offending the national security law.
It also said that any person or organisation that knowingly published the application, including sharing or recommending it online, would also risk contravening offences of inciting secession and subversion under the national security law, as well as seditious intention offences under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
The Post has reached out to Apple and Google for comment.
