Hong Kong, September 16th, a 27-year-old man named Chu Kai-pong expressed on Monday that he was convicted of “inciting secession” by the Hong Kong court for wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times.” He becomes the first person convicted since the passing of the new National Security Law in March this year.
According to Reuters, under the new National Security Law of Hong Kong, the maximum penalty for this offense has been extended from two years to seven years, and it can be up to ten years if it involves “collusion with foreign forces.”
On June 12th this year, Chu Kai-pong was arrested at a Hong Kong MTR station while wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times” and a yellow face mask with the abbreviation “FDNOL”, which stands for “Five demands, not one less” in English. These two slogans were frequently chanted by Hong Kong protestors during the large-scale democratic protests in 2019.
June 12th holds historical significance for Hong Kong people. On that day, the Hong Kong Legislative Council resumed the second reading of the “Fugitive Offenders Ordinance Amendment Bill”, leading to spontaneous protests and street occupations by a large number of Hong Kong citizens. It marked the beginning of months-long protests and became known as the “612 Protest” or the “Admiralty Conflict.”
Chu Kai-pong told the police that he wore the T-shirt to remind Hong Kong people to remember the democratic protest movement.
Chief Justice Su Hui-te, appointed by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to preside over national security cases, will deliver the verdict on Thursday, September 19th.
Chu Kai-pong’s lawyer stated that he may face a maximum sentence of two years. In January this year, Chu Kai-pong was sentenced to three months in prison for wearing clothes with protest slogans and storing protest flags in his luggage.
In 1997, the UK handed over Hong Kong to China, with the Chinese government promising to guarantee the freedoms of Hong Kong people under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, including freedom of speech.
In 2019, Hong Kong saw massive protests against the proposed extradition bill. In 2020, the Chinese authorities introduced the “Hong Kong version of the National Security Law” to crack down on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. The law aims to punish acts of “secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces,” with penalties of up to life imprisonment.
On March 19, 2024, the Chinese-controlled Hong Kong Legislative Council passed a second new security law: the “National Security Maintenance Law,” as a supplement to the 2020 “Hong Kong version of the National Security Law.” It further erodes the remaining basic freedoms of Hong Kong people.
The law imposes harsh penalties on peaceful speech and civil society advocacy activities, enhances police powers, and undermines procedural rights. As the provisions apply to Hong Kong residents and companies worldwide, it silences dissenters locally and globally.
The United States has expressed serious concerns about this law. On March 22, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “This law will have broad, chilling effect on the people of Hong Kong, as well as American citizens and companies operating there, and it threatens to further erode the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. The vague definitions in the law regarding ‘incitement,’ ‘state secrets,’ and dealings with foreign entities could be used to suppress dissent.”
Hong Kong and Chinese officials assert that they need to plug the “loopholes” in the national security system.