Hong Kong’s national security police have a new target in their sights: gamers.

香港的国家安全警察盯上了一个新目标：游戏玩家。

In a stern warning issued Tuesday, they effectively banned a Taiwanese video game they described as “advocating armed revolution,” saying anyone who downloaded or recommended it would face serious legal charges. The move comes as the authorities continue to tighten control over online content they consider a threat to the Chinese city.

香港国安部门周二发布了一份措辞严厉的警告，实际上封禁了一款台湾手游，他们称该游戏“鼓吹武装革命”，并称任何下载或推荐该游戏的人都将面临严重的法律指控。此举发生在当局对于他们认为威胁到这座中国城市的在线内容收紧管控之际。

“Reversed Front: Bonfire” is an online game of war strategy released by a Taiwanese group. Illustrated in a colorful manga style, players can choose the roles of “propagandists, patrons, spies or guerrillas” from Taiwan, Mongolia and the Chinese territories of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet in plots and simulated battles against China’s ruling Communist Party. Alternatively, players can choose to represent government fighters.

《逆统战：烽火》是一个台湾团体制作的战争策略网游。游戏使用了色彩鲜艳的漫画风格，玩家可选择来自台湾、蒙古，以及中国香港、新疆和西藏的“宣传员、资金支持者、间谍或游击队员”等角色，参与对抗中国执政的共产党的阴谋和模拟战斗。玩家也可选择代表政府军。

The game was removed from Apple’s app store in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but remains available elsewhere.

这款游戏已于周三从香港的苹果应用商店下架，但仍能在其他地区下载。

But it had already been out of reach for many gamers. It was never available in mainland China and earlier this month Google removed “Reversed Front” from its app store, citing hateful language, according to the developers.

但对许多玩家来说，这款游戏早就遥不可及。这款游戏从未在中国大陆上线，而且据游戏开发者说，谷歌已在本月早些时候将《逆统战：烽火》从其应用商店下架，理由是游戏中有仇恨言论。

ESC Taiwan is a group of anonymous volunteers who are outspoken against China’s Communist Party. Their products, which include a board game released in 2020, are supported by crowdfunded donations.

台湾ESC团队由匿名的志愿者组成，他们直言不讳地反对中国共产党。他们的产品（包括一款2020年发布的桌游）是众筹捐款支持的。

The developers said that the removal of the game demonstrated how mobile apps in Hong Kong are subject to the type of political censorship seen in mainland China. “Our game is precisely accusing and revealing such intentions,” the group’s representatives said in an email.

开发者表示，这款游戏的下架表明香港的手机应用程序面临着与中国大陆类似的政治审查。“我们的游戏正是准确地谴责和揭露这种意图，”该团体的代表在一封电子邮件中写道。

In social media posts, they also thanked the authorities for the free publicity and posted screenshots of the game’s name surging in Google searches. They said the comments and pseudonyms selected by players in the game would not be censored, whether they were in support or in opposition of the Communist Party.

他们还在社交媒体发帖，感谢当局为游戏做的免费广告，并发布了该游戏名称在谷歌搜索中飙升的截图。他们说，玩家在游戏中选择的昵称和发表的评论不会被审查，无论他们是支持还是反对共产党的。

In its statement, the Hong Kong police said the game promoted “secessionist agendas” and was intended to provoke hatred of the government. They said that publishing, recommending and downloading the game, or supporting the online campaigns that funded it, could amount to sedition and incitement to secession under the national security law in Hong Kong, offenses that can lead to jail sentences.

香港警方在公告中说，这款游戏宣扬“分裂国家的主张”，目的是煽动民众对政府的仇恨。他们说，根据香港的国家安全法，发布、推荐、下载这款游戏，或支持为其提供资金的网络运动，都可能构成煽动叛乱和煽动分裂国家罪，可能被判处监禁。

This is not the first time a video game has been used as an avenue for political protest that has incurred the wrath of Chinese authorities. Animal Crossing, an online game were players could build elaborate designs of their own island, was removed from mainland China after players began importing Hong Kong protest slogans into the game.

这不是电子游戏首次被用作政治抗议的渠道，从而激怒中国当局的例子。在《动物森友会》这款电子游戏中，玩家能精心设计建造自己的岛屿。这款游戏已在中国大陆下架，此前有玩家开始在游戏中加入香港的抗议口号。

Even though virtually all forms of dissent in Hong Kong have been quashed, the national security dragnet in the city continues to widen. The authorities have made widespread arrests under the law, which was imposed five years ago in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests.

尽管香港几乎所有形式的异见都已被镇压，但香港的国安拉网式搜索仍在不断扩大。当局根据五年前在大规模民主抗议活动后实施的国安法，已经逮捕了很多人。

Last week, Hong Kong authorities laid new national security charges against Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most prominent young activists. Mr. Wong is serving the prison sentence of another national security charge that ends in January 2027.

上周，香港当局对黄之锋提起了新的国家安全指控，他是香港最著名的年轻活动人士之一。黄之锋目前正在服刑，刑期将于2027年1月结束。

The authorities last month charged the father of Anna Kwok, an outspoken activist living in Washington, D.C., accusing him of helping handle her financial assets. Ms. Kwok is on a list of people overseas wanted by the Hong Kong police, which has placed bounties on their heads by offering rewards for information that would lead to the their arrest.

上个月，香港当局起诉了郭凤仪的父亲，指控他协助处理她的金融资产。郭凤仪目前住在华盛顿特区，是直言不讳的活动人士。郭凤仪在香港警方的海外通缉名单上，警方悬赏为将他们逮捕提供线索的人。