Portuguese national set to plead guilty to conspiring to incite secession under security law
Hong Kong Free Press
A Portuguese national has indicated he intends to plead guilty to conspiring to incite secession under the Beijing-imposed national security law after being remanded in custody for over a year.
Joseph John, also known as Wong Kin-chung, appeared in front of District Judge Ernest Lin on Thursday, when his lawyer said that the 41-year-old would enter a guilty plea and applied for the hearing to be scheduled on February 27, 2024. Lin, a designated national security law judge, approved the date.
John did not apply for bail and was placed on remand awaiting formal trial.
The Portuguese national was accused of conspiring to incite others to commit secession or undermine national unification between July 1, 2020 and November 1, 2022, over allegedly managing social media accounts for the Hong Kong Independence Party.
He was initially arrested under the colonial-ear sedition law, which warrants up to two years of imprisonment. But the prosecution in March upgraded his charge to the more serious offence under the security legislation.
Although the offence is punishable by up to 10 years in jail, sentences meted out by the District Court are capped at seven years.
Police arrest John last November, accusing him of making seditious posts online, launching crowdfunding campaigns to collect money for a military, and urging foreign governments to deploy troops to promote Hong Kong’s independence.
He has been denied bail on multiple occasions, according to the Witness. In March, judge Stanley Chan denied John’s bail application, while in August, it was again denied by judge Kwok Wai-kin.
Bail applications in national security cases have to go through a stricter assessment. Judges would consider whether there are sufficient grounds for believing the accused “will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.”
Consequently, bail for defendants held under the security legislation has become the exception rather than the norm, meaning those charged often face lengthy pre-trial detention periods.
Alexandre Leitão, the Consul General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, was among the observers in the public gallery on Thursday.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, led to hundreds of convictions amid new legal precedents, whilst dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs, despite an overall rise in crime.
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