Chu Kai-pong, a 27-year-old Hong Kong man, has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for wearing a T-shirt and a mask with protest slogans deemed “seditious”, under the city’s tough new national security law. Chu pleaded guilty to one count of “doing acts with seditious intention”, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail under Article 23 of the law.
Chu was arrested on June 12 for wearing a T-shirt reading “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” and a mask printed with “FDNOL”, a pro-democracy slogan. Chief Magistrate Victor So, a judge appointed to hear national security cases, said Chu intended to reignite ideas behind the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
The protests in 2019 were a challenge to the Hong Kong government and waned due to arrests, exile of activists, the pandemic, and China’s earlier security law. Chu’s sentencing follows a previous three-month jail term for wearing a similar T-shirt and possessing seditious publications at the airport.
The national security law, implemented in 2020 to quash dissent, allows for penalties up to 10 years for sedition, including inciting hatred against China’s communist leadership. Critics, including Western nations, believe Article 23 will further erode freedoms in Hong Kong, once known as a free territory in China. Since the law’s implementation, 303 people have been arrested, with 160 convicted.
The conviction of Chu Kai-pong highlights the crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong under the new national security law, raising concerns about the erosion of civil liberties in the city.
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