A Hong Kong radio DJ yesterday was convicted of seditious speech under a British colonial-era law that authorities have embraced as China flattens dissent in the territory.
Tam Tak-chi (譚得志), 49, is among an increasing number of rights advocates charged with sedition, a previously little-used law that prosecutors have dusted off in the wake of pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Tam’s trial was the first since Hong Kong’s 1997 handover in which a sedition defendant fought his case by pleading not guilty and went through a full trial.
Two previous prosecutions were wrapped up after guilty pleas.
Tam’s conviction is a legal watershed, because it sets precedents for a host of upcoming sedition prosecutions.
Better known by his moniker “Fast Beat” (快必), Tak hosted a popular online talk show that backed democracy and was highly critical of the government, often using colorful language.
He was a regular presence at protests and often set up street booths to deliver political speeches.
Prosecutors focused on the street booths, with Tam convicted on seven counts of “uttering seditious words,” as well as other charges such as disorderly conduct and disobeying a police officer.
Authorities said that Tam incited hatred against the authorities by chanting the popular protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” 171 times, cursing the police force about 120 times and repeatedly shouting: “Down with the [Chinese] Communist Party.”
“The attack on the Communist Party is only part of the seditious words uttered by the accused,” District Judge Stanley Chan (陳廣池) said in his verdict.
“Looking at what he [Tam] said, it’s far beyond criticizing and theorizing,” Chan said.
Sedition is separate from the National Security Law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, but the courts treat it with the same severity and there are plans to make sedition one of a number of new security crimes, meaning it will soon carry a much longer jail term.
Tam was arrested in September 2020 and denied bail.
His trial began in July last year, but was delayed for a Hong Kong High Court ruling in which judges declared the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong” was secessionist and therefore illegal under the security law.
That ruling legally crystallized the reality that certain views and slogans are now forbidden in Hong Kong under the security law.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
RSS