Hong Kong: First person sentenced under new security law

A Hong Kong man was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Thursday, making him the first person to be convicted under a strict new national security law.

Chu Kai-pong, 27, was arrested for wearing a t-shirt reading: "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times." 

The day he chose to wear the shirt was also seen as significant. Not only was the slogan used by anti-government protesters during a wave of demonstrations in 2019. he wore it on June 12, the fifth anniversary of the day demonstrators surrounded the city's legislative council complex.

Authorities argued that the slogan calls for the separation of Hong Kong from China, something considered a red line by Beijing.

Chu had pleaded guilty to carrying out a seditious act in court on Monday. This is the second time in less than a year that he has been sentenced to jail time over a provocative t-shirt.

In January, he was given a three-month jail term under an older colonial-era law before the new security law took effect in March.

That time, he was wearing a shirt with the abbreviation  "FDNOL," which is short for another protest slogan: "Five demands, not one less."

Chief Magistrate Victor So said Chu was "evidently unwilling to reform."

What's in the new security law?

Hong Kong's new security law imposed much harsher new jail sentences for those convicted of seditious acts.

Defendants now face up to seven years in prison, a significant increase from the previous maximum sentence of two years for a first offense and three years for a subsequent offense.

Critics have said that the law will do nothing more than further stifle free speech in Hong Kong.

Although Chu was subject to a three-year jail term, Judge So said the sentence was reduced due to his guilty plea.

es/sms (AP, AFP)