Macau’s Judiciary Police said they detained former legislative councillor Au Kam-san on Thursday for “collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security,” marking the first time the city has invoked its sweeping national-security statute since its enactment in 2009 and subsequent tightening in 2023. Investigators allege that Au, 68, began cooperating with an overseas “anti-China organisation” in 2022, providing what authorities called large quantities of false and seditious material for exhibitions and online distribution. The police statement further accuses him of trying to incite public hatred of Beijing and of attempting to disrupt Macau’s 2024 chief-executive election by encouraging hostile actions from foreign governments. Au served nearly two decades in the Legislative Assembly and helped found the New Macau Association, one of the enclave’s principal pro-democracy groups. His arrest underscores the shrinking space for political dissent in the Chinese-ruled casino hub, mirroring the crackdown on opposition figures in neighbouring Hong Kong under comparable security legislation.