Overview

• Macau police detained 68-year-old Au Kam San on July 30 at his residence for investigation under the updated national security framework
• Authorities allege he maintained contacts with an anti-China organisation abroad since 2022 and provided large amounts of false and seditious materials
• Police accuse him of plotting to incite hatred towards Beijing, disrupt Macau’s 2024 leadership election and provoke hostile actions by foreign governments
• The territory overhauled its 2009 security law in 2023 to align with mainland and Hong Kong provisions and broaden the scope of prosecutable offences
• His arrest marks the first high-profile application of the expanded law and reflects Beijing’s strategy to tighten control over its special administrative regions