National Security Law banner along the Hong Kong Road . File photo
A Hong Kong man with Portuguese nationality has been sentenced to five years imprisonment on Thursday for "incitement to secession", the first dual-national to be convicted under the city's Beijing-made national security law after a judge ruled that he had “demonised China” in social media posts which advocated independence for the city.
Joseph John, also known as Wong Kin-chung, pleaded guilty in February to the charge, admitting that he was the chairperson of the now-dissolved Britain-based Hong Kong Independence Party. He was also an administrator for the party's six online platforms.
The guiding principles of the little-known group included "declaring China's illegal occupation of Hong Kong", "inviting the UK and the US to send troops to Hong Kong", and calling for the city to be an "independent member state of the Commonwealth", the court was told.
The prosecution alleged 42 posts on the party's social media platforms to be "secessionist". The offending posts included online petitions for foreign military intervention and crowdfunding to build an army for Hong Kong.
On Thursday, Judge Ernest Lin sentenced John to five years in jail, saying that he had "distorted history, demonised China, and appealed to foreign countries to destroy (Hong Kong) and China by political or simply violent means".
"Those posts lent excuses to foreign politicians... to criticise, boycott and even suppress China and (Hong Kong) in the name of helping Hong Kong," Lin said.
Joseph John, a 41-year-old Portuguese citizen, has been denied bail for over 16 months since he was arrested and charged in November 2022 with "conspiracy to carry out seditious acts", punishable with up to two years in jail under Hong Kong's Crimes Ordinance.
Last March, the prosecution upgraded his case to fall under Hong Kong's first national security law, which was imposed by Beijing to quell dissent in 2020 after the city saw massive and at times violent pro-democracy protests.
Diplomats from Portugal and the European Union were in court Thursday to observe the proceedings.
Portugal's consul general in Hong Kong Alexandre Leitao told AFP they had not been able to visit John.
Hong Kongers with dual nationality are not entitled to foreign consular assistance as the city authorities have been strictly enforcing Chinese nationality regulations.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
More than 290 people have been arrested, 174 charged and 112 convicted of national security crimes since the Beijing-made security law came into force.
Additional reporting from AFP
香港葡萄牙男子分裂國家罪被判入獄5年
週四，一名擁有葡萄牙國籍的香港男子因“煽動分裂國家”被判處五年監禁，這是第一位根據北京製定的香港國家安全法被定罪的雙重國籍人士，此前法官裁定他“妖魔化「中國」出現在社群媒體貼文中，主張香港獨立。
約瑟夫·約翰（Joseph John），又名黃建中，於二月承認了這一指控，承認自己是現已解散的英國香港獨立黨的主席。 他也是該黨六個線上平台的管理員。
這個鮮為人知的組織的指導原則包括“宣布中國非法佔領香港”、“邀請英國和美國出兵香港”，以及呼籲香港成為“英聯邦的獨立成員國”。 ”，法庭被告知。
檢方指控該黨社交媒體平台上的 42 條貼文屬於「分裂國家」。 這些違規貼文包括線上請願外國軍事幹預和眾籌為香港建立一支軍隊。
週四，法官歐內斯特·林(Ernest Lin)判處約翰五年監禁，稱他“歪曲歷史，妖魔化中國，並呼籲外國通過政治或純粹的暴力手段摧毀(香港)和中國”。
林說：“這些帖子為外國政客提供了藉口……以幫助香港的名義批評、抵制甚至打壓中國和（香港）。”
約翰是一名41 歲的葡萄牙公民，自2022 年11 月被捕並被指控「串謀進行煽動行為」以來，已被拒絕保釋16 個多月，根據《香港罪行》，他可被判處最高兩年監禁條例。
去年 3 月，檢方將他的案件升級為適用香港首部國家安全法，該法是北京在 2020 年實施的，目的是在香港發生大規模、有時甚至是暴力的民主抗議活動後平息異議。
來自葡萄牙和歐盟的外交官週四出庭旁聽了訴訟過程。
葡萄牙駐香港總領事亞歷山大·雷濤告訴法新社，他們無法探望約翰。
由於香港當局一直嚴格執行中國國籍法規，因此具有雙重國籍的香港人無權獲得外國領事協助。
在經歷了一年的民主抗議和騷亂之後，北京於 2020 年 6 月將國家安全立法直接納入香港小憲法。 它將顛覆、分裂國家、與外國勢力勾結和恐怖主義行為定為犯罪——廣義上包括破壞交通和其他基礎設施。 此舉賦予警方全面的新權力，並導致數百人在新的法律先例中被捕，同時數十個民間團體消失。 當局表示，此舉恢復了這座城市的穩定與和平，並拒絕接受貿易夥伴、聯合國和非政府組織的批評。
自北京製定的國安法生效以來，已有290多人被捕，174人被指控，112人被定罪。
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