On 22 February 2021, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, proposed that Hong Kong's governance had to be in the hands of "patriots". Observers considered it possible that the definition of "patriot" would require candidates for public office to embrace the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, as also suggested by Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang; and that this signified a departure from the position that had prevailed since a speech by China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1984.

British and Australian governments reminded their nationals that dual nationality was no longer recognized in Hong Kong. On 28 February, 47 pro-democracy protestors from the 6 January arrests were called to a court session on 1 March; their earlier bail agreements had set the session date to early April.

1 February

Jimmy Lai court hearing

Media tycoon and founder of Next Digital, Jimmy Lai, was accused of violating the national security law and had been granted bail by the High Court on 23 December 2020. Public prosecutors subsequently argued that the bail provisions had been incorrectly interpreted, and their appeal was admitted on 31 December. A panel of five judges at the Court of Final Appeal, three of whom were hand-picked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, heard the statements of both parties. They centered around the meaning of Article 42 of the National Security Law, which puts the onus on the criminal suspect or defendant to prove that they would not endanger national security if released. The panel was to further determine if the December bail decision had been legally valid, and the hearing was adjourning. Outside court, pro-Beijing protesters gathered, with a banner of Politihk Social Strategic reading, "Severely punish Jimmy Lai. Denounce the black hand of political black violence."

2 February

Chris Tang: In 2020 the police arrested 97 persons suspected of violating National Security Law Commissioner of Hong Kong Police, Chris Tang, stated in a video conference of the Legislative Council Security Affairs Committee that in 2020, the police arrested 97 persons suspected of violating the Hong Kong national security law, on suspicion of splitting the country, subverting state power, colluding with foreign forces, and terrorist activities. Eight of them were prosecuted. As for the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, a total of 10,200 people were arrested by the end of December 2020, of which 40% were students, nearly 2,450 people were prosecuted, judicial procedures involving more than 940 accused were completed, and more than 190 people imprisoned. Tang said that social order had been "gradually restored" in the city, and that investigations would continue to adopt an "intelligence-driven" approach. He emphasized that police would "seriously prevent illegal activities from reviving", and that it would have to stop "radical individuals from launching lone wolf attacks".

Carrie Lam responds to the relaxation of BNO's naturalization eligibility Carrie Lam responded to the relaxation of the BNO application for naturalization qualifications, accusing the British government of violating its promises and 'political packaging, full of false reasoning', providing Hong Kong people holding BNOs with a path to residency and naturalization in the UK. Regarding the belief that the United Kingdom, as a large economy, does not care about benefits from Hong Kong, Lam pointed out that Hong Kong has always been an important source of foreign investment in the United Kingdom, and British real estate developers also clearly regard Hong Kong people as their main sales targets.

3 February

American banker police assault case Radio Free Asia reported that a 35-year-old American banker was charged with assaulting an off-duty police officer at MTR Causeway Bay station on 7 December 2019. He was charged with assaulting a police officer and alternate ordinary assault. During the hearing of the case in the Eastern Magistrates' Court, the defense claimed that some CCTV footage in the station was deleted by the MTR due to police actions. It believed that the trial would be unfair to the defendant and therefore applied for termination of the hearing. The police admitted in writing that they destroyed the first set of CCTV footage and only provided the second set of CCTV footage to the court. In addition, the defense filed an application to the court, alleging that the original alert in the case had a large amount of evidence of illegality, including the Good Citizen Award awarded in cash to major witnesses.

Hong Kong University Students' Union screened the documentary film 'Lost in Fumes' Hong Kong University Students' Union organized a total of three screenings of the documentary Lost in Fumes, a documentary about Edward Leung. About 70 students attended the first screening, but the university personnel did not stop it. The organizer required student IDs to be checked, and on-site students and the media also had to register to enter. The previous day, the union's television outlet Campus TV reported that the university had warned the union and indicated that security guards may block the screening if it was held.

4 February

Education Bureau announces guidelines and curriculum arrangements related to national security and national security education Education Bureau issued a notice to schools stating that following implementation of the Hong Kong national security law, curriculum guidelines and teaching resources have been updated, and schools are required to implement specific measures to deal with students who may participate in or initiate activities with political messages inside or outside the school. If students raise slogans and pull links in the school, school authorities should immediately dissuade them, and point out if they are suspected of illegal activities or if necessary, consult the police-civil relations officer of the police district. In serious or emergency situations, they can even call the police and record the suspected illegal acts, persons and details.

The bureau requires schools to fully implement national security education within two academic years, and establish a national security education working group, which needs to submit a work report every year. National security content is to be integrated into a wide range of subjects, such as general studies in elementary schools, Chinese subjects, and Chinese history, history, economics, corporate finance, geography, and biology in high schools.

Ip Kin-yuen, a former legislator of the education sector, criticized the Education Bureau for not consulting the sector or holding a press conference to explain the guidelines, saying that the practice was counterintuitive and broad in scope, thus pressurizing the principals and teachers of primary and secondary schools. Edward Wong, a member of the non-governmental legal review group, believes that it will threaten the academic freedom of schools.

Canada announces 3-year work visa scheme for overseas graduates from Hong Kong The Canadian government announced that Hong Kong citizens who have graduated from a Canadian college or equivalent foreign education in the past 5 years can apply for a work visa for a maximum period of 3 years. The measures apply to holders of SAR passports or British National (Overseas) passports. However, due to the pandemic, Hong Kong residents outside of Canada need to be hired by local employers and comply with local public health requirements before entering the country. The scheme was launched on 8 February; over 500 applications were received by the end of February.

Government plans to amend regulations to regulate 'doxxing' behavior Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at the question and answer meeting in the Legislative Council that five pieces of legislation will be implemented, including amendments to the regulation of 'doxxing' behavior. Lam said that in the past two years of social turmoil, coupled with the raging COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, she has seen the Internet flooded with issues such as 'doxxing', hateful and discriminatory remarks, and fake news. She was referring to governments around the world introducing legislative or administrative measures to deal with these issues, and said that the Hong Kong government will study the approach in other countries and places. She added that it is difficult to submit a comprehensive legislative proposals in the short term, but it will first deal with the more urgent 'doxxing' behavior.

5 February

Female nurse sentenced to community service order for disclosing police officer's personal data A 25-year-old part-time female nurse was convicted of using the computer at the Kowloon No. 1 Dermatology Specialty Center on 13 August 2019 for doxxing on her personal Instagram the details of a police officerhis name, Hong Kong identity card number, date of birth, and phone number, with the title "Mile of the Black Policemen and Doctors". The defendant lost her part-time job as a nurse for 5 years. Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court sentenced her to 240 hours community service order.

6 February

Teresa Cheng accuses media of bias in reporting of Department of Justice's prosecutions Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng stated on her blog that unnamed media were biased in describing appeals or reviews made by the Department of Justice in criminal cases starting in 2020. She expressed her belief that the relevant report had ignored the justifications put forward by the Public Prosecutors, and even the reasons stated by the court in the judgment.

Chris Tang insists that 'fake news' destroys police-civilian relations On a radio program, citizens had complained about alleged impoliteness by and deteriorating performance of police officers, and asked the Commissioner of Police Chris Tang to follow up. Tang denied that the police's performance had deteriorated, and instead pointed out that 'fake news' on the Internet undermined the relationship between the police and the public. Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei criticized Tang for "living his own lies in the world." Tang also claimed that of the arrested persons in connection with the anti-amendment law, only 19 received the Superintendent's warning, which he believed was because those warned had been led to believe that refusing to speak after being arrested would help their cause.

7 February

Radio host charged with sedition National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police officially charged the radio host Wan Yiu-sing (a.k.a. Giggs) with performing an act with seditious intent. The prosecution reportedly accused Giggs of making seditious remarks through online comments inciting others to try and overthrow the Chinese Communist Party, endorsing the independence of Hong Kong, Taiwan's right to self-determination and primary elections and assisting Hong Kong criminals to escape to Taiwan. Magistrate Victor So refused to release the defendant on bail, and the trial was scheduled for 10 May.

8 February

No jury in the first national security law court case On 1 July 2020, a defendant, Tong Ying-kit, was involved in driving a motorcycle with the Liberate Hong Kong flag and crashing into a police officer. He was subsequently charged with 'inciting secession', the first to be prosecuted under the national security law. It transpired that Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng had earlier in the month written to the legal team of Tong to advise that he would only be tried by three judges as per the provisions of the national security law, out of concern for the safety of jurors.

Police seized explosives in Fanling