Tong Ying-kit, 24, who struck police officers with his motorcycle while carrying a protest banner, could be sentenced to life in prison.
A Hong Kong protester was found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession on Tuesday, a victory for the government in the first trial under the tough security law China imposed a year ago, and a sign that the city’s traditionally independent courts will strictly enforce new limits on dissent.
The protester, Tong Ying-kit, was arrested on July 1, 2020, after he drove his motorcycle around a Hong Kong neighborhood with a protest banner, then collided with police officers who tried to stop him, injuring three.
Under the security law, which went into effect hours before his arrest, Mr. Tong could be sentenced to life in prison. The court will hand down his sentence at a later date.
The trial has been closely watched for indications of how the courts might enforce the security law, which has already become a powerful tool for curbing mass protests. Under the provisions of the law, Mr. Tong was denied bail and a jury trial. Instead, he was tried by a panel of three judges, assigned from a group selected by Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam.
More than 60 people are awaiting trial on charges brought under the new law. They include dozens of pro-democracy politicians who have been accused of subversion because of their election platform, which called for blocking the government’s agenda in Hong Kong’s legislature.
Mr. Tong’s case is also an instructive example of how far the security law goes in criminalizing political speech. The Hong Kong authorities have used the law as cudgel against those participating in protests, political campaigns and expressions of opinion, a dramatic change for a city that has long had some of the strongest protections for speech in Asia.
A central question in Mr. Tong’s case is whether the popular protest slogan on his flag, “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times,” is, as the government has argued, a call for independence from China, which is banned under the law. Pro-democracy activists have said the slogan is open to interpretation.
The court agreed with the government about the slogan’s message.
“The defendant himself understood the slogan to carry a secessionist meaning,” the court said in its ruling. Rights activists had warned ahead of the verdict that such a ruling would significantly limit free speech in the city.
The prosecution had spent much of the 15-day trial analyzing the meaning of the slogan, relying on the testimony of Lau Chi-pang, a history professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, that the meaning of the Chinese words for “liberate” and “revolution” had remained constant for more than 1,000 years.
The discussion covered a range of history, from the ancient Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Cultural Revolution and Malcolm X. Professor Lau testified that the slogan, which was coined in 2016 by Edward Leung, a now-imprisoned pro-independence activist, called for acts of violence to end China’s control of Hong Kong.
Mr. Tong’s attorneys had argued that the phrase, widely used during the protests that convulsed the city in 2019, was not necessarily a call for independence.
“Just as if somebody says let’s go fight for our rights, that doesn’t necessarily mean get out a gun and start shooting people,” said Clive Grossman, Mr. Tong’s lead defense attorney. Two defense witnesses, Eliza Lee, a professor of politics at the University of Hong Kong, and Frances Lee, a professor in the journalism school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, testified that the phrase had carried a variety of meanings in recent years.
Anthony Chau, the lead prosecutor, had also argued that Mr. Tong’s driving had shown “utter disregard for human life” and caused “serious violence against police” when, after driving past officers who had formed three lines to stop him, he crashed into officers who had rushed to form a fourth checkpoint.
Mr. Grossman acknowledged that Mr. Tong’s driving was dangerous and that he should have stopped when ordered to do so by officers, but he said that did not amount to terrorism. He argued that Mr. Tong had avoided police officers at the previous checkpoints, and that he had braked at the fourth but might have been distracted when at least one officer threw a shield.
“A person who sets out to commit the act of terrorism by driving into people does not put his foot on the brake,” Mr. Grossman said.
"first" - Google News
July 27, 2021 at 02:42PM
https://ift.tt/3eWwSqI
Hong Kong Protester Is Convicted in First Trial Under Tough Security Law - The New York Times
"first" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QqCv4E
https://ift.tt/3bWWEYd
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Hong Kong Protester Is Convicted in First Trial Under Tough Security Law - The New York Times"
Post a Comment