Latest News

Two Hong Kong males imprisoned for seditious acts under brand-new security law

A Hong Kong judge on Thursday imprisoned 2 guys in the city's very first sedition cases under a new nationwide security law one for wearing a shirt with a. protest slogan and another for writing similar messages on bus. seats.

Chief Magistrate Victor So initially sentenced Chu Kai-pong,. 27, to 14 months' jail under harder sentencing laws produced by. the city's legislature in March.

If the law does not step in early and permits private. sedition to happen, it will eventually result in turmoil in the. society once again, So said in a written judgment.

Chu pleaded guilty plea to having actually seditiously worn a Tee shirts. with the protest slogan Free Hong Kong, transformation of our. times.

The slogan was shouted on the streets during the months of. pro-democracy presentations that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.

Chu was apprehended on June 12 at a subway station using the. shirt and a yellow mask printed with FDNOL- shorthand for. another popular 2019 slogan five needs, not one less.

The date marked the fifth anniversary of among the very first. major actions in the demonstrations.

The offender utilized a symbolic day to prompt others to. honor the unrest and try to restore the idea of the unrest,. which postures a terrific risk to the social order, and the. situations are not small, So stated.

Chu told police the Liberate Hong Kong slogan called for. the return of Hong Kong to British guideline and he wore it to advise. people of the demonstrations, the court heard.

Magistrate So later on sentenced another Hong Kong male, Chung. Man-kit, 29, to 10 months in jail in a separate security case. on Thursday.

The content of the seditious words in this case involves. advocating that the Hong Kong federal government to break away from the. legitimate control of the main government and implement his. concepts in such a way that weakens social harmony and public. order, So stated.

The law should step in otherwise there was a danger of. society falling under chaos once again, So said.

Chung on Thursday pleaded guilty to three counts of. seditious acts for composing mottos promoting Hong Kong. self-reliance and Liberate Hong Kong, transformation of our times. on the back of bus seats in March and April.

Beijing imposed a nationwide security law in 2020 to quash the. months-long demonstrations in the financial center. In March 2024, Hong. Kong passed a 2nd new security law.

Under the brand-new law, the optimal sentence for sedition was. increased from 2 years to approximately seven years in prison and up. to 10 years if collusion with foreign forces is involved.

Critics, consisting of Western governments, have said the. slightly defined arrangements might be utilized to suppress dissent however. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities said they were needed to. keep stability.

Responding to Chu's sentencing, Amnesty International's. China Director Sarah Brooks stated in a declaration: This is a. outright attack on the right to flexibility of expression.

Amnesty prompted Hong Kong authorities to rescind the law.

(source: Reuters)