Hong Kong man sentenced to 14 months for wearing 'seditious' T-shirt under new security law

Sponsored Ad

Chu Kai-pong, a 27-year-old man from Hong Kong, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt and mask with protest slogans deemed “seditious.” Chu was convicted under the city’s national security law, Article 23, which allows for a maximum penalty of 10 years for acts involving seditious intent. He pleaded guilty to the charges.

Chu was arrested on June 12, the fifth anniversary of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The slogans on his T-shirt read "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times," and his mask carried the abbreviation "FDNOL," which stands for "five demands, not one less," a well-known protest slogan.

This conviction follows an earlier sentence in January when Chu was given three months in jail for similar offenses, including wearing a T-shirt with protest slogans and possessing publications labeled seditious.

Chief Magistrate Victor So, who was assigned to handle national security cases, noted that Chu's actions aimed to reignite ideas associated with the 2019 protests. These protests were a significant event in Hong Kong, occurring after the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997.

The sedition law, initially introduced during British colonial rule, was reactivated in 2020. The revised version of the law, enforced in March 2023, expands the offense to include incitement of hatred against China’s leadership. To date, 303 people have been arrested under the security laws, with 160 convictions.