The Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) presents NS-files: Decoded. Commencing on June 30, this five-episode television series starting from June 30, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of the bureau

To mark the sixth anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) presents NS-files: Decoded. Commencing on June 30, this five-episode television series, hosted by Ken Chan alongside guest host Steve Li, Chief Superintendent of Police of the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), brings together leading experts to conduct in-depth analyses of key national security cases, revealing the truths behind the files. 

The Hong Kong Security Bureau told the Global Times that the series is designed around major national security cases from recent years. It presents the investigative and evidence-gathering process behind these cases and analyzes the courts' rulings in a documentary format. The program demonstrates how the effective use of national security laws, together with the unwavering efforts of law enforcement agencies, has brought to justice those involved in anti-China and destabilizing activities in Hong Kong, thereby upholding the rule of law and justice.

The bureau said it hopes the program will remind the public that national security risks still exist. Safeguarding national security is an ongoing task rather than one with a definitive endpoint, and society must remain vigilant at all times.

Each episode will be uploaded to the Hong Kong Security Bureau's official Douyin account every Tuesday at around 9 pm, making the series accessible to audiences on the Chinese mainland as well, the bureau told the Global Times. 

The five-episode series NS-files: Decoded reviews the cases of Tong Ying-kit, picture books of "Sheep Village" series, Tam Tak-chi, the "Returning Valiant," and "subversion under the infamous '35-plus' political strategy," according to the HKSAR government's website. 

The series will be aired on HOY 78 at 8:15 pm every Tuesday, the website showed. 

Observers pointed out that those cases elaborated in the series are typical national security law (NSL) cases. 

For example, the verdict in the case of Tong Ying-kit, who was charged under Hong Kong NSL and was handed down on July 30, 2021, was the first prosecution under Hong Kong NSL, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The Hong Kong High Court sentenced Tong to nine years' imprisonment after convicting him of inciting secession and terrorist activities, Xinhua said. 

On July 1, 2020, Tong rode a motorcycle in Wan Chai while carrying a flag bearing what the court identified as a pro-"Hong Kong independence" slogan. He broke through three police cordons, seriously injuring three police officers.

After hearing the case, a panel of three judges designated to handle national security cases delivered its verdict on July 27, finding Tong guilty on both charges. 

In their ruling, the judges said Tong displayed the flag with the intention of conveying a message of secession to others and inciting others to commit acts of secession. They also found that he deliberately drove toward police officers, intentionally challenging the police as representatives of Hong Kong's rule of law. 

The court held that his actions involved serious violence, constituted a dangerous act that gravely endangered public safety, caused serious harm to society, and were intended to intimidate the public in pursuit of political objectives.

In the "Sheep Village" picture books case, five defendants were each sentenced to 19 months' imprisonment for publishing seditious materials, according to local media reports in Hong Kong in September 2022. 

The authorities said the books sought to indoctrinate children by promoting the false claim that China has no sovereignty over Hong Kong and that Hong Kong is not part of China. They also cited interview content in which respondents suggested "escaping" or "resisting," arguing that it was intended to provoke fear, hatred, contempt, disaffection, and disloyalty among readers, according to media reports. 

The Hong Kong West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ruled in May 2024 that 14 anti-China figures over the infamous "35-plus" political strategy, including former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung and Helena Wong Pik-wan, were guilty of conspiracy to subvert state power.  

Between July 1, 2020, and January 7, 2021, those defendants conspired with others to engage in a scheme to severely interfere with, obstruct, or destroy the lawful performance of the HKSAR government's functions by illegal means, with the aim of subverting state power.

A former Hong Kong police officer and former chairman of the Junior Police Officers' Association said the newly launched television program on national security is both timely and necessary.

Although the implementation of the Hong Kong NSL over the past six years has helped restore order, many members of the public still do not fully understand the complexity and seriousness of the national security cases that unfolded during that period, Lam Chi-wai, former chairman of Junior Police Officers' Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The program's use of real-life cases, presented in a structured documentary format, enables the public to better understand that national security is "not merely a slogan, but an issue that genuinely affects our daily lives," Lam said.

Since the implementation of the Hong Kong NSL through early April 2026, a total of 394 people have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of endangering national security. Of those, 208 have been prosecuted and 180 have been convicted. Anti-China figures accused of destabilizing Hong Kong, including Jimmy Lai, have pleaded guilty and been brought to justice, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.