2 Hongkongers charged with sedition under new security law say they intend to plead guilty
Hong Kong Free Press
A lawyer representing two Hongkongers charged with sedition under the city’s new security law has said his clients would plead guilty to their alleged offences, although one first sought to challenge whether the law placed excessive limits on freedom of speech.
Chu Kai-pong, 27, and Au Kin-wai, 58, appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday charged with sedition under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known locally as Article 23.
Chu was charged with one count of “doing with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention,” while Au was charged with “knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention.”
Chu also stands accused of failing to show proof of identity to the police and loitering with intent to commit an arrestable offence on June 12, the fifth anniversary of clashes between police and protesters outside the city’s legislature.
Barrister Steven Kwan, representing the pair, said Chu would plead guilty to the sedition offence as he asked the court to adjourn the case to September 16, when the defendant is expected to enter a guilty plea.
While Au also intended to enter a guilty plea, Kwan said Au would first challenge the constitutionality of the new security law on the ground that the law is incompatible with freedom of speech guaranteed under the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
Kwan said the challenge would revolve around an article of the new security law, which stipulates that “proof of intention to incite public disorder or to incite violence [are] not necessary” to prove a sedition offence.
“A criminal offence is constituted even if it does not involve violence… is this compatible with the freedom of speech provided by the Basic Law?” Kwan said.
The lawyer also said the Court of Final Appeal, the city’s top court, would hear a similar challenge brought by democracy activist Tam Tak-chi, who is serving a 40-month jail term for multiple sedition convictions.
The Court of Appeal last month allowed Tam to take his appeal bid to the top court. Tam hopes to argue that an intention to incite violence should be an essential element of the sedition offence.
Kwan said Tam’s appeal was related to the sedition offence under Section 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance, which was repealed when Article 23 took effect on March 23, and that would not be “100 per cent applicable” to the present case.
He added that the new security law had cast a “much wider” net than the previous sedition offence regarding what constitutes a seditious intention.
If the security law is ruled constitutional, Au will plead guilty, Kwan said.
Chief Magistrate Victor So asked both parties to file written arguments and adjourn Au’s case to September 20 for oral submissions. Neither Chu nor Au applied for bail and were remanded in custody.
New security law
Under the Article 23 security law, sedition carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail, and 10 years if the offender is found to have colluded with an “external force.”
Previously, sedition was punishable by up to two years in prison for a first offence, and up to three years for re-offenders.
The new security law defines a seditious intention as inciting hatred, contempt of disaffection against the “fundamental system” of China, its apparatuses in Hong Kong, as well as the city’s government, legislature, and legal system.
The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” But authorities have cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.
Both Chu and Au served time in jail for offences under the repealed colonial-era law. They were the first two people to be charged under the new security law according to HKFP’s records.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
