September 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Hong Kong’s courts on Thursday sentenced a man accused of committing acts of “sedition” to 14 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt with a slogan considered pro-independence under the controversial National Security Law passed earlier this year to strengthen penalties for treason and sedition.
The defendant, a 27-year-old man identified as Chu Kai Poong, has pleaded guilty to the charges against him, becoming the first person convicted under this new law, known as ‘Article 23’ and considered by many to be a tool of Beijing to undermine the fundamental freedoms and rights of Hong Kongers.
The young man was arrested for wearing a T-shirt and a mask with slogans related to June 12, a date linked to the strong anti-government protests that took place in the region in 2019. Now, according to the courts, the accused “used a symbolic day with the intention of reviving ideas after the 2019 protests,” according to information collected by the HKTKWW news portal.
The legislation, which introduces new crimes and toughens prison sentences for those who commit treason, sedition or subversion, was approved unanimously in March after a second reading during a parliamentary session that lasted for hours.
However, despite the criticism, the deputies expressed their support for this new legislation, considering that it will contribute to “safeguarding” security in the Chinese special administrative region and “guaranteeing a stable atmosphere for business and investment.”
The bill was first proposed more than two decades ago and is part of Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, which serves as the region’s constitution. This article states that the Hong Kong government must pass its own legislation on the offences mentioned above.
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