Former Tiananmen protests student leader Wang Dan warned that Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai and prominent activist Joshua Wong would be among the first to be arrested once Hong Kong’s national security law is passed at the end of June.

Wang wrote on his Facebook page that Beijing-based foreign journalists had told him that Hong Kong’s version of the national security law would be passed by the National People’s Congress by the end of June and that Lai and Wong would be arrested on July 1, but it was uncertain if Lai and Wong would be extradited to mainland China to stand trial.

Wang said despite having some doubts about the information at first, he still told Lai and Wong. He said his foreign-media friends hoped the information could be exposed in order to stop the Chinese Communist Party from taking action.

The draft of the national security law, which prohibits acts and activities related to secession, subversion of the state, terrorism and foreign interference, was tabled for review at the three-day NPC meeting that began Sunday morning. The law is expected to be passed by China’s top legislature by the end of June.

Wang said that with the information provided to him about the passing of the law appearing to be true, he hoped that the information regarding Lai and Wong’s arrests would not also come true. “But I’m very pessimistic,” he wrote, adding that he believed Lai and Wong were prepared for the worst.

Wang warned that if Lai and Wong were arrested, all who have participated in the anti-extradition bill protests would also be arrested. “The young people of Hong Kong will face arrests and torture. They will be detained for a prolonged period of time or something much worse than what I can imagine,” he wrote. He urged the people of Hong Kong to be united and fight until the end.

Despite Wang’s warning, Lai said he would not change his determination to stay in Hong Kong. “I heard of that warning a few days ago. Whether I believe if it is true is irrelevant. I will not leave,” Lai said.

Since June 16, Lai has been tailed by mysterious followers around the clock. At 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, a private vehicle was parked near Lai’s Kowloon residence and three masked men in the car appeared to take notes of Lai’s activities. One of the men got out of the car as it drove off at approximately 9 a.m. He was joined by two women and another man shortly afterwards.

When Lai left his home at around 10 a.m., the two cars that had been tailing him over the past two weeks were nowhere to be seen. It was uncertain who was behind the operation and what its intention was. Previously, when confronted by reporters from Apple Daily, which is owned by Lai, the followers claimed to be reporters from a media company that shared the same name as two news websites based in Taiwan and Malaysia, but both news sites denied any connections to the operation.

Lai is facing six charges and is currently on bail. The court has rejected his application to leave Hong Kong for a business trip in the United States on June 12. Beijing mouthpiece Ta Kung Pao alleged that Lai had planned to leave Hong Kong via a sea route that would have cost HK$1 million (US$129,015). Lai denied the allegation, adding that he vowed to take the newspaper to court.

Click here for Chinese version.

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