DANGEROUS PRECEDENT

Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protester Found Guilty of Terrorism in First Trial Under China Security Law

Tong Yink-kit, age 24, is the first to be tried under Beijing’s tough new security law.

In what many see as a worrying precedent, a pro-democracy protester from Hong Kong has been found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession under China’s tough new security law. Tong Ying-kit, 24, was arrested in July 2020 after a new security law—which sparked months of protests in Hong Kong—went into effect. He was charged after he struck police with his motorcycle while waving a protest banner bearing the words “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times,” which the court deemed was a call for independence from China, which is against the law. The 15-day trial was heard by a panel of three judges who analyzed the meaning of the slogan. Tong was denied both a jury trial and bail. He faces life in prison. More than 60 people, including many pro-democracy politicians, await trail under the new law.