Radio host turned political activist Tam Tak-chi has been charged with sedition by Hong Kong authorities after uttering phrases including "liberate Hong Kong" and "disband the police" at pro-democracy rallies earlier this year, joining the wave of activists facing legal charges in the wake of Beijing's imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong in June.
Tam was arrested on Sunday by the national security unit and spent more than 48 hours in police custody before being charged on Tusday under the Crimes Ordinance. He can be fined up to HK$5,000 and jailed for two years.
The prosecution accused Tam of intending to "excite disaffection against the government...or to raise discontent or disaffection amongst inhabitants of Hong Kong," among other things, according to the South China Morning Post.
The radio personality had been chanting well-known slogans of the pro-democracy movement in the city, including "liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" and "five demands, not one less," along with phrases condemning police activities, in locations throughout Kowloon between March 15 and July 19.
Locally known as "Fast Beat," Tam joined pro-democracy political group People Power in 2013 and is now its vice chairman under the party's founder and chairman Ray Chan.
"Tam has done what he's known for: performing impromptu stand-up comedy peppered with pointed commentary about Hong Kong's current affairs," Chan said on Twitter Tuesday.
"After a two-day detention, he was denied bail (Tuesday) upon the prosecution's request, lest he express his opinions again."
Principal Magistrate Don So Man-lung denied Tam's bail request. Tam is likely to renew his application in the Hong Kong High Court.
A Growing List of Charges
Tam has clashed with police before – notably during the Occupy Central movement in the fall of 2014 when he joined with activists to occupy an area of Mong Kok.
He was arrested for inciting others to commit illegal acts in May 2015 and again in May 2020 for illegal assembly during a protest against the National Security Law. Tam has been charged with intent to provoke a breach of the peace after using abusive language at a rally outside a shopping mall in March of this year.
The People Power vice chairman ran for district elections in Siu Sai Wan in 2015 and in Kwong Tak in 2019. In 2016 Tam put himself up for election to represent Kowloon East in the Legislative Council. He lost.
In court Tuesday, a separate incitement charge was laid against Tam for his role in organising a banned march in January. If he is found guilty, the offence carries a maximum jail term of five years.
While Tam was charged under the Sedition Law established by the British, more Hong Kong activists will likely be brought into custody under the city's new National Security Law going forward.
The phrases Tam is being arrested for have been shouted by hundreds of people throughout the city and his arrest sets a dangerous precedent for future charges to be laid.
Colonial Hand-Me-Downs
Hong Kong's sedition laws are widely seen as archaic by the city's journalism and law communities, as well as a vestige of the colonial era.
The sedition law "criminalises speech or writing and may be used as a weapon against legitimate criticism of the government," members of the Bills Committee noted in a 1996 report for the city's Legislative Council just prior to the handover to China.
A modified version of the sedition law with a constrained scope for applicable offences was signed by Hong Kong's last colonial governor less than a week before the handover, but it was never implemented.
South Korea repealed similar laws in the 1980s during the country's transition to democracy, while in the last fifteen years New Zealand and the United Kingdom took steps to eliminate sedition as an offence.
