West Kowloon Law Courts Building, Hong Kong. File photo.
Two men were jailed in Hong Kong on Thursday, first one for wearing a shirt with a protest slogan and another for writing similar messages on bus seats, marking the city's first sedition cases under a new national security law,
Chief Magistrate Victor So initially sentenced Chu Kai-pong, 27, to 14 months' jail under tougher sentencing laws created by the city's legislature in March.
"If the law does not intervene early and allows individual sedition to occur, it will eventually lead to chaos in the society again," So said in a written judgment.
Chu pleaded guilty plea to having seditiously worn a T-shirt with the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times".
The slogan was chanted on the streets during the months of pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.
Chu was arrested on June 12 at a subway station wearing the shirt and a yellow mask printed with "FDNOL"- shorthand for another popular 2019 slogan "five demands, not one less".
The date marked the fifth anniversary of one of the first major actions in the protests.
"The defendant used a symbolic day to incite others to commemorate the unrest and try to revive the idea of the unrest, which poses a great risk to the social order, and the circumstances are not minor," So said.
Chu told police the "Liberate Hong Kong" slogan called for the return of Hong Kong to British rule and he wore it to remind people of the protests, the court heard.
Magistrate So later sentenced another Hong Kong man, Chung Man-kit, 29, to 10 months in prison in a separate security case on Thursday.
"The content of the seditious words in this case involves advocating that the Hong Kong government to break away from the legitimate control of the central government and implement his ideas in a way that undermines social tranquility and public order," So said.
The law must intervene otherwise there was a risk of society "falling into chaos again," So said.
Chung on Thursday pleaded guilty to three counts of seditious acts for writing slogans advocating Hong Kong independence and "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" on the back of bus seats in March and April.
Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 to quash the months-long protests in the financial hub. In March 2024, Hong Kong passed a second new security law.
Under the new law, the maximum sentence for sedition was increased from two years to up to seven years in prison and up to 10 years if "collusion with foreign forces" is involved.
Critics, including Western governments, have said the vaguely defined provisions could be used to curb dissent but Hong Kong and Chinese officials said they were needed to maintain stability.
Responding to Chu's sentencing, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement: "This is a blatant attack on the right to freedom of expression."
Amnesty urged Hong Kong authorities to repeal the law.
香港依新國安法判處兩名煽動罪名入獄
週四，兩名男子在香港被判入獄，其中一名男子因穿著印有抗議口號的襯衫，另一名男子因在公車座位上寫下類似訊息而入獄，這是香港根據新的國家安全法首次發生煽動叛亂案件。
根據香港立法會3月制定的更嚴厲的量刑法，首席裁判官蘇澤豪最初判處27歲的朱啟邦14個月監禁。
「如果法律不及早介入，任由個人煽動叛亂的情況發生，最終將導致社會再次混亂，」蘇在一份書面判決書中說。
朱對自己穿著印有抗議口號「光復香港，時代革命」的T卹進行煽動性認罪表示認罪。
2019 年震撼香港的民主示威活動期間，街頭大喊著這一口號。
朱於6月12日在地鐵站被捕，當時他穿著這件襯衫，戴著印有“FDNOL”的黃色口罩，這是2019年另一個流行口號“五項要求，一個都不能少”的簡寫。
這一天是抗議活動中首批重大行動之一的五週年紀念日。
蘇說：“被告利用象徵性的日子，煽動他人紀念騷亂，並試圖復活騷亂的念頭，對社會秩序造成很大風險，情節不輕。”
法庭獲悉，朱告訴警方，「光復香港」的口號呼籲香港回歸英國統治，他佩戴這個口號是為了提醒人們注意抗議活動。
週四，裁判官蘇在另一起安全案件中判處另一名香港男子、29 歲的鐘文傑 10 個月監禁。
蘇說：“本案煽動言論的內容涉及鼓吹香港政府脫離中央政府的合法控制，並以破壞社會安寧和公共秩序的方式推行其主張。”
蘇說，法律必須幹預，否則社會就有「再次陷入混亂」的風險。
鐘週四承認三月和四月在巴士座椅背面寫下鼓吹香港獨立和「光復香港，時代革命」標語的三項煽動行為罪名。
北京於 2020 年實施了一項國家安全法，以平息金融中心長達數月的抗議活動。
2024年3月，香港通過第二部新國安法。
根據新法律，煽動叛亂罪的最高刑期從兩年增加到七年有期徒刑，如果涉及“勾結外國勢力”，則最高可判處十年有期徒刑。
包括西方政府在內的批評者表示，定義模糊的條款可以用來遏制異議，但香港和中國官員表示，需要這些條款來維持穩定。
國際特赦組織中國部主任莎拉·布魯克斯（Sarah Brooks）在一份聲明中回應朱的判決：“這是對言論自由權的公然攻擊。”
國際特赦組織敦促香港當局廢除該法律。
Source: Reuters
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