The trial of the first person charged under Hong Kong’s National Security Law wrapped up yesterday, with the prosecution seeking to designate a slogan popular during 2019 protests as subversive in a crucial test of the territory’s rule of law.
Former waiter Tong Ying-kit (唐英杰), 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism, inciting secession and dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm on July 1 last year, shortly after the law was enacted.
As the first national security case conducted in open court, Tong’s case could set precedents on the handling of national security law cases for the more than 120 other people charged, including prominent democracy advocates.
Photo: AP
The verdict is to be delivered on Tuesday next week by a panel of three judges — Esther Toh (杜麗冰), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Wilson Chan (陳嘉信) — who were picked by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) to hear national security cases.
Tong faces up to life in prison, as set out in the law. Someone convicted of a “grave” national security offense could be jailed for at least 10 years, the law says.
Tong was denied bail and a jury, factors that stoked concern among Western governments and rights groups as a significant departure from century-old common law traditions.
The court had cited the safety of jurors and their family members in denying trial by jury. Defense lawyers argued that the right to a jury was a “hallowed principle” of the common law system.
On July 1 last year, a day after the law came into effect, Tong rode a motorcycle with the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times” fluttering on a flag from the back as he drove into a group of police officers, injuring three of them.
He was arrested and charged with “incitement to secession,” as well as terrorism and dangerous driving.
Tong has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The interpretation of the protest slogan, which was spray-painted on walls and chanted regularly during protests that roiled the territory in 2019, has been at the heart of the trial.
In his closing submission, government prosecutor Anthony Chau (周天行) argued that Tong had displayed the flag to incite others to commit secession, including protesters gathered nearby, some of whom clapped as Tong rode past.
He also said that Tong had used his motorcycle as a “lethal weapon” and the slogan on his flag showed he was “pursuing a political agenda.”
The government has long held that the slogan suggests a call for independence, which would contravene the National Security Law, although no legal ruling has been made on that interpretation.
Tong’s defense lawyer, Clive Grossman, yesterday said that it was a phrase with “multiple interpretations,” including the desire for freedom and democracy.
Much of the trial involved debate between professors drawing on a range of topics, including ancient Chinese history, the US civil rights movement and Malcolm X, to ascertain whether the “Liberate Hong Kong” slogan is subversive.
Two expert witnesses called by the defense to analyze the slogan’s meaning, drawing upon sources including an examination of more than 2 million online posts, found “no substantial link” between the slogan and Hong Kong independence, Grossman said.
However, Chau challenged that, saying this “empirical data analysis is irrelevant and not reliable,” and could not assist the court in understanding the meaning of the slogan.
The defense argued that Tong had not undertaken a terrorist act with his motorcycle.
A shield allegedly thrown by a police officer as he rode by could have been a reason for the “accident or a collision” with the officers, Grossman said.
MEDIGEN: The vaccine must also be reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices before it is added to the national vaccination program An emergency use authorization (EUA) for Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s (高端疫苗) COVID-19 vaccine — MVC-COV1901 — for people aged 20 and older was issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said a specialists’ meeting was held at the FDA on Sunday to review Medigen’s application to manufacture and distribute its COVID-19 vaccine, and the panel approved it. FDA Director Wu Hsiu-mei (吳秀梅) said the meeting consisted of 21 specialists from the fields of chemistry, manufacturing and controls, pharmacy, toxicology, clinical medicine, public health, law and medical ethics. There were no major concerns over
LAND ALERT UNCERTAIN: The CWB was waiting to observe how In-Fa shifts as it moves north to determine when to issue a land alert, a forecaster at the bureau said Residents of northern Taiwan should brace for heavy rain today and tomorrow as Typhoon In-Fa approaches the northeast, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. A land alert for the typhoon would be issued depending on the angle at which it moves north today, the bureau said. The bureau on Wednesday issued a sea alert for the typhoon, which applies to ships operating off the nation’s northern, northeastern and southeastern coasts. As of 8:30pm yesterday, In-Fa’s center was 470km southeast of Taipei, moving northwest at 6kph. It was carrying maximum sustained winds of 180kph, and had a radius of 200km. The typhoon was moving
‘BREAKTHROUGH’: All countries should be free to pursue closer ties with Taiwan, a leading democracy, a major economy, and a force for good in the world, the AIT said Taiwan is to establish a “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania,” the first office in Europe to be called Taiwanese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. “It is an important diplomatic breakthrough,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) wrote on Facebook, thanking diplomatic personnel for the significant achievement. To expand the nation’s relations with central and eastern Europe, especially with Baltic nations, the government decided to establish the office in Vilnius, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told an online news conference. The plan signals progress in Taiwan-Europe relations, as it has been 18 years since the nation last opened an office on the
TARGET RAISED: The CECC said vaccination coverage has reached 24.35%, while Premier Su Tseng-chang said the government hopes for 30% by the end of July The government has signed a contract to buy an additional 36 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, 1 million of which are to be delivered in the fourth quarter, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday, as it updated its vaccination target to 30 percent coverage by the end of the month. The two-year deal with the US company covers “prime series” vaccines and future booster shots to protect against SARS-CoV-2 variants, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying during an Executive Yuan meeting in Taipei. In the two weeks since vaccine registration opened, more than 9.8
RSS