In September 2026, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau confirmed it was weighing “follow-up action” regarding the 2017 documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, which traces the early activism of currently imprisoned democracy advocate Joshua Wong. The documentary, available on Netflix for years, suddenly topped local viewing charts after Wen Wei Po, a newspaper controlled by the Liaison Office of China’s central government, published a piece attacking the film. Wen Wei Po declared the film’s trailer “chockful of inciting content” and reported its availability to the Security Bureau.
Pro-establishment legislators immediately demanded that the government compel Netflix to remove the film, arguing that because Netflix operates a Hong Kong channel, it must comply with the National Security Law (NSL). Politicians further suggested the film could constitute “incitement to secession” or “collusion with foreign forces.”