Chinese officials demand to examine phones of travellers from Hong Kong

Hong Kong/Beijing — Hong Kong travellers to China are being asked to unlock their smartphones so Chinese agents can examine chat messages and social media, the latest move by authorities to prevent the financial hub’s months-long protests from spreading.

One fund manager said he was told to unlock his phone this week at the Shenzhen border, after which officials inspected his Whatsapp and WeChat apps, as well as his photos. The agents asked how the fund manager had obtained pictures of the protests and why he had stored them, and took down information from group discussions about the demonstrations, said the person, who declined to be named...