A Hong Kong court sentenced a pro-democracy activist, political party official, and former radio locutor to 40 months in prison on charges of “sedition” for committing “verbal crimes”.
Tam Tak-chi, also known by his radio name Fast Beat, was also fined $5,000 after he was convicted of 11 of the 14 charges against him, including seven counts of “uttering seditious words”.
Two of the charges he was acquitted of involved “disorderly conduct in a public place” and “conspiracy to utter seditious words.”
Tam's sentence was imposed under the colonial-era law that had not been used to prosecute anyone since 1997, which prohibited the crime of “sedition”. This rule has been used more and more frequently since the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators and supporters began.
The law against sedition is separate from the national security law introduced in 2019, which also criminalizes sedition, as well as terrorism, secession and foreign collusion.
Tam, former vice president of the People's Power Party, has been in jail since his arrest in September 2020. The 50-year-old politician was arrested on a similar charge last January and released on bail.
Prosecutors alleged that the activist used slogans against the police, as well as phrases commonly heard in the 2019 protests: “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” and “five demands, not one less” on multiple occasions. At their trial, the prosecution and the defense debated the meaning of “liberation” and “revolution” throughout Chinese history.
In a separate trial against the first person charged under the National Security Act, the court ruled that the phrase “liberate” could be used to incite others to commit secessionist activities.
Stanley Chan, the national security judge elected by the Hong Kong government, sentenced Tam to a total of 54 months on the various charges, including two years for “incitement to knowingly participate in an unauthorized meeting”, but ruled that several were served at the same time, reducing the total prison sentence to 40 months.
Chan said he found no mitigating factors and accused Tam of “bombastic” and having a “subjective desire” to stand and win the legislative elections planned at that time.
Tam is among the 47 activists and politicians who were arrested and detained during a pre-election primary. The Democratic party later resigned in protest, and the electoral system was revised to make it largely impossible for members of the opposition to win.
Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Tam's ruling “exemplifies the breakneck speed at which Hong Kong's freedoms are being eroded.”
“Once known as the protest capital of Asia, Hong Kong now sentences people to years in prison simply for shouting slogans,” he said.
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