This afternoon (Aug. 4) around 4 pm, when American Hong Kong Pastor was sitting outside Beijing's Liaison Office in Sai Ying Poon, HK, he was arrested by the Hong Kong Police for using an invalid ID and taken to the Western Police Station, where he was detained for an hour. He was denied the opportunity to call his lawyer and the US Consulate General in Hong Kong despite his repeated requests. After making 2 phone inquiries to a "police counsel" (as recorded in the police log book), the police confirmed that the arrest was a mistake, apologized to Pastor Kraft, and released him. When Kraft insisted that the fact that he was arrested be recorded in the log book, the police would not do so unless the Pastor signed it. Kraft wanted to ask for a lawyer's advice first but was disallowed, and he could only sign it. Meanwhile, a protest was going on in a park nearby in Kennedy Town.
Pastor Kraft thinks that his right as an American citizen and as a Hong Kong citizen has been violated. Instead of blaming the police, he blames whoever has made a false report to the police about his ID being invalid. The pastor is a US veteran, who often sits, in full US military uniform with an American flag, outside the PLA headquarters and China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong. He also regularly attends HK protests as an observer.