• 11/29/2024

Elderly busker jailed for second time over performing protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’

Hong Kong Free Press

Elderly busker sentenced to jail for second time over performances of protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong

An elderly busker has been sentenced to two weeks in jail over unlicensed public performances of the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong.

Li Jiexin at Shatin Magistrates' Court
Li Jiexin at Shatin Magistrates’ Court. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP

Li Jiexin’s conviction on Tuesday marked the second time he had been sentenced to jail over unlicensed performances, both involving the protest song popularised at the height of pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Judge Ivy Chui at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday sentenced Li to 18 days in prison after the septuagenarian pleaded guilty to eight counts of performing a musical instrument and raising funds without a permit, local media reported.

Li originally faced six counts of performing a musical instrument without a permit and six counts of raising funds without a permit, according to local media reports. The remaining four counts have been stored on court file.

West Kowloon Law Courts Building. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
West Kowloon Law Courts Building. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Li was last October sentenced to 30 days in prison for unlicensed performance and fundraising after playing the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong in public, an act that was branded at the time as “soft resistance” by Magistrate Amy Chan.

See also: What is ‘soft resistance’? Hong Kong officials vow to take a hard line against it, but provide no definition

The court also granted an application by the prosecution to confiscate Li’s erhu and amplifier which had been used for the performances.

National security investigation

Case details stated that officers from the national security department of the police launched a pre-emptive investigation to observe Li.

Advertisement to promote the National Security Education Day in Admiralty on April 11, 2024.
Advertisement to promote the National Security Education Day in Admiralty on April 11, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Ahead of these second round of charges, Li was arrested on suspicion of “doing an act with seditious intention” after police officers saw him playing Glory to Hong Kong in public, though he was later charged with performing and raising funds without a permit.

Li allegedly played the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument, in public without lawful authority or excuse and without a permit issued by the Commissioner of Police between September 27 and October 4 last year.

Not isolated incident

In mitigation, the defence said that Li did not obstruct pedestrians nor provoke negative reactions from people, and that he had acted out of ignorance and misunderstanding of the law.

Li Jiexin outside the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on October 24, 2023. Photo: James Lee/HKFP.
Li Jiexin outside the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on October 24, 2023. Photo: James Lee/HKFP.

But referring to Li’s conviction last year, judge Chui said Li’s performances of the protest song were not an isolated incident, and that the offences relating to Tuesday’s conviction were committed during the course of an ongoing trial last year over similar charges.

Acknowledging that although the government’s ban against unlawful acts relating to the protest song was not in force at the time of the offences, Chui said a custodial sentence was the “only choice” and sentenced Li to 18 days in prison.

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https://hongkongfp.com/2024/08/07/elderly-busker-jailed-for-second-time-over-performing-protest-anthem-glory-to-hong-kong/