Bubble pops for 'anti-vax' store

Two young women operating a pro-democracy beverage shop in Mong Kok were arrested for seditious behavior yesterday after posting anti-vaccination messages online.

Ascohesion Cheese Tea, which sold bubble tea among other drinks popular with youngsters, is believed to be a part of the pro-democracy "yellow economy." The shop is located in Mong Kok's Argyle Centre.

After searching the shop and the homes of the two women - aged 21 and 24 - with a court warrant, officers seized promotional leaflets that contained slogans such as "reject digital surveillance, boycott LeaveHomeSafe." Officers also found an electronic device that the two allegedly used to publish messages inciting people on social media, sources added.

The duo will remain in detention overnight while the investigation continues, sources said.

The shop has been posting anti-government and anti-police messages since its launch in October 2020, according to police sources.

The store's social media page saw multiple posts on February 9, which read: "Omicron has already turned into a flu ... countries around the world have already scrapped anti-epidemic mechanisms and also called on students not to take the jabs as no vaccines can prevent infection," the post claimed.

Another post said that the SAR government is insistent on launching a health code so that it can collect residents' personal information as "revenge" for the 2019 anti-fugitive bill movement.

Other posts called on people to refrain from using the LeaveHomeSafe app by buying takeaways.

One post advised students who have already taken the jab to "pretend they are ill as a side effect of vaccination" and not attend classes, which will hopefully prompt parents to press an end to vaccination programs.

The shop's Instagram account also attacked the government's anti-epidemic team and criticized the citywide mandatory testing arrangement. This marks the second arrest made by the police's national security department. The first arrest was made two weeks earlier on February 15 when pro-democracy singer-activist Tommy Yuen Man-on was arrested for allegedly seditious behaviors.