Hong Kong protester given 9-year term in 1st security case
Source: AP
By KATIE TAM and JANICE LO
HONG KONG (AP) — A pro-democracy protester was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison in the closely watched first prosecution under Hong Kong’s national security law as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over the territory.
Tong Ying-kit, 24, was convicted of inciting secession and terrorism for driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers at a July 1, 2020, rally. He carried a flag bearing the banned slogan, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”
President Xi Jinping’s government imposed the law on the former British colony last year following protests that erupted in mid-2019. Beijing has rolled back the territory’s Western-style civil liberties and tried to crush a pro-democracy movement by jailing activists. The public’s role in picking Hong Kong’s legislators has been reduced.
Critics accuse Beijing of violating the autonomy promised when Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 and wrecking its status as a global business center. Human rights activists say the security law is being abused to attack legitimate dissent.
File- In this Monday, July 6, 2020, file photo, Tong Ying-kit, 23 years old, arrives at a court for the violation of the new security law after carrying a flag reading "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times" during a protest in Hong Kong. Tong has been sentenced to nine years in prison in the closely watched first case under Hong Kong’s national security law as Beijing tightens control over the territory. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-0502e534dc367a7bc0ba94590587b57c
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