A Hong Kong court sentenced the first two people under a harsh new Hong Kong national security law on Thursday, including a man who was given 14 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan. A second man received 10 months for writing pro-independence messages on the back of bus seats. Chu Kai-pong, 27, wore a shirt on June 12 reading "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times," a slogan chanted during anti-government protests in 2019. That day was the fifth anniversary of a demonstration in which thousands of people surrounded the city's legislative council complex to protest a now-withdrawn extradition bill. Months of protests followed as demonstrators expanded their demands to call for greater police accountability and democracy.
Chu pleaded guilty in court on Monday to the charge of carrying out an act or acts with a seditious intent. The city's new security law, which critics say further stifles freedom of expression, took effect in March and imposes stiffer punishments for sedition offenses, the AP reports. Offenders face up to seven years in prison, up from the previous maximum sentence of two years for a first offense and three years for a subsequent offense. Colluding with an external force to carry out such activities is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Others have been jailed under a security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
In handing down Chu's sentence on Thursday, Chief Magistrate Victor So said June 12 is viewed as a symbolic date among protesters and Chu's case was not minor because he used the date in an effort to encourage others to remember the unrest and revive ideas about it. He noted that Chu had already been jailed for sedition earlier this year and his subsequent act showed the deterrent effect of his previous sentence was insufficient. He reduced the prison term by one-third because of Chu's guilty plea.
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In January, So sentenced Chu to three months in jail under a colonial-era law before the security law took effect. In that case, Chu was arrested for wearing a similar T-shirt at the airport and possessing publications deemed seditious by authorities. Amnesty International's China director, Sarah Brooks, said Chu's conviction and sentencing over his clothing choice highlighted "the sheer malice" of the new security law. She urged local authorities to repeal the law. "Chu Kai-pong is the first person convicted under this legislation, but its vague wording, vast scope, and repressive nature leaves Hong Kongers fearing that he will not be the last," she said. (More Hong Kong stories.)
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