The District Court of Hong Kong has sentenced Portuguese national and former president of the now-defunct Hong Kong Independence Party, Joseph John, to a five-year prison term for allegedly inciting secession under the China-imposed National Security Law. This marks him as the first European citizen to be incarcerated under the said law.
John was found guilty in February for instigating seditious activities via posts on the Hong Kong Independence Party’s social media pages from July 1, 2020, to November 1, 2022. Dilating on the case specifics, John propagated Hong Kong’s independence via 42 social media posts spanning six different platforms. Among these posts, 35 were published after the enforcement of the National Security Law.
During John’s sentencing, District Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung held that John distorted history and maligned the Chinese government by advocating Hong Kong’s independence on social media. He further stated that John’s posts reflected ignorance of the international political climate and that these posts were premeditated as they were disseminated on the party’s social media accounts and website for over 28 months.
Judge Lin decreased John’s original sentence from six and a half years to five years after he pleaded guilty. Initially, John was indicted under the colonial-era sedition law, which maxes out at a two-year imprisonment sentence. Yet, in March the prosecution elevated the charge to the more serious crime of secession under the National Security Law.
The Hong Kong Independence Party that was registered as a Britain-based political party in 2015 had a sizable following with more than 7,000 followers on Facebook and around 2,000 on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Notwithstanding, John insisted during police investigations that he didn’t publish any of the party’s posts, although evidence showed that John had full access to all the accounts and a business card stating his position as the party president.
Since the implementation of the China-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong on June 30, 2020, to safeguard national security, at least 265 individuals between the ages of 15 and 90 have been arrested under this law.
In another related development, the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts sentenced Hong Kong activist Chu Kai-poon to three months in prison on sedition charges earlier this year on January 10. Chu was pegged down for wearing a t-shirt imprinted with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” at the Hong Kong International Airport. The judiciary opined that Chu’s actions could reignite the 2019 Hong Kong protests.