Hong Kong man imprisoned for 14 months for wearing 'seditious' T-shirt

A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt and a mask with a protest slogan deemed "seditious", marking the first person to be convicted under the new local national security law.

27-year-old Chu Kai-pong was sentenced on Thursday at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, after pleading guilty earlier in the week to one count of “doing acts with seditious intention”.

The man was arrested a subway station in June wearing a T-shirt stating the phrase "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times". He was also wearing a mask, that read "FDNOL", which abbreviates the slogan "Five demands, not one less."

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Both these slogans were frequently heard in large-scale protests in Hong Kong during the months-long anti-government demonstrations in 2019.

The local media reported that the man was also carrying a box containing his excrement to use against people opposing his views.

'New national security law, Article 23'

The prison term given to the man is the first in Hong Kong under a new local national security law that was passed in March this year.

The law, also called Article 23, is an expansion of the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail under the new legislation, Article 23.

According to the critics, the law could further erode civil liberties in the city. Meanwhile, Beijing and Hong Kong have been defending it, saying that it was necessary for stability in the country.

Chu was arrested on June 12, the day marking the anniversary of a key date of the 2019 protests, when particularly large crowds took to the city's streets.

The court heard Chu told police he wore the T-shirt to remind people of the protests, Reuters reported.

The man was jailed for three months earlier also in a separate incident for wearing a T-shirt with the same slogan, and for possession of other offensive items.

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Chief Magistrate Victor So, who was picked by the government to hear national security cases, stated in his judgment that Chu intended to "reignite the ideas behind" the 2019 protests.

He further said that Chu “took advantage of a symbolic day with the intention to reignite the ideas behind the unrest”.

He said Chu "showed no remorse" after his previous conviction, and that the sentence reflected the "seriousness" of the sedition charge.

(With inputs from agencies)