HONG KONG: A Hong Kong man on Thursday turned the primary particular person to be sentenced to jail for sedition underneath town’s new nationwide safety legislation for sporting a T-shirt with a once-popular protest slogan.
Chief Justice of the Peace Victor So sentenced Chu Kai-pong, 27, to 14 months’ jail underneath more durable sentencing legal guidelines created by town’s legislature in March.
“If the legislation doesn’t intervene early and permits particular person sedition to happen, it is going to ultimately result in chaos within the society once more,” So mentioned in a written judgment.
Chu pleaded responsible plea to having seditiously worn a T-shirt with the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our instances”.
The message – chanted on streets throughout the months of pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019 – had been deemed able to inciting secession in a separate nationwide safety case.
Chu was arrested on June 12 at a subway station sporting the shirt and a yellow masks printed with “FDNOL”- the shorthand of one other in style 2019 slogan “5 calls for, not one much less”.
The date marked the fifth anniversary of one of many first main actions within the protests.
“The defendant used a symbolic day to incite others to commemorate the unrest and attempt to revive the thought of the unrest, which poses an excellent danger to the social order, and the circumstances usually are not minor,” So mentioned.
Chu advised police the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our instances” referred to as for the return of Hong Kong to British rule and he wore it to remind individuals of the protests, the courtroom heard.
Chu’s lawyer Steven Kwan on Monday advised the courtroom there was no proof that folks had been affected or incited by the slogan within the 25 minutes Chu wore the T-shirt in public.
Beijing imposed a nationwide safety legislation in 2020 to quash the months-long protests within the monetary hub. In March 2024, Hong Kong handed a second new safety legislation.
Beneath the brand new legislation, the utmost sentence for sedition has been elevated from two years to as much as seven years in jail and as much as 10 years if “collusion with international forces” is concerned.
Critics, together with Western governments, have mentioned the vaguely outlined provisions might be used to curb dissent however Hong Kong and Chinese language officers have mentioned it was wanted to plug loopholes and preserve stability.
Chief Justice of the Peace Victor So sentenced Chu Kai-pong, 27, to 14 months’ jail underneath more durable sentencing legal guidelines created by town’s legislature in March.
“If the legislation doesn’t intervene early and permits particular person sedition to happen, it is going to ultimately result in chaos within the society once more,” So mentioned in a written judgment.
Chu pleaded responsible plea to having seditiously worn a T-shirt with the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our instances”.
The message – chanted on streets throughout the months of pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019 – had been deemed able to inciting secession in a separate nationwide safety case.
Chu was arrested on June 12 at a subway station sporting the shirt and a yellow masks printed with “FDNOL”- the shorthand of one other in style 2019 slogan “5 calls for, not one much less”.
The date marked the fifth anniversary of one of many first main actions within the protests.
“The defendant used a symbolic day to incite others to commemorate the unrest and attempt to revive the thought of the unrest, which poses an excellent danger to the social order, and the circumstances usually are not minor,” So mentioned.
Chu advised police the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our instances” referred to as for the return of Hong Kong to British rule and he wore it to remind individuals of the protests, the courtroom heard.
Chu’s lawyer Steven Kwan on Monday advised the courtroom there was no proof that folks had been affected or incited by the slogan within the 25 minutes Chu wore the T-shirt in public.
Beijing imposed a nationwide safety legislation in 2020 to quash the months-long protests within the monetary hub. In March 2024, Hong Kong handed a second new safety legislation.
Beneath the brand new legislation, the utmost sentence for sedition has been elevated from two years to as much as seven years in jail and as much as 10 years if “collusion with international forces” is concerned.
Critics, together with Western governments, have mentioned the vaguely outlined provisions might be used to curb dissent however Hong Kong and Chinese language officers have mentioned it was wanted to plug loopholes and preserve stability.
