First Hong Kong citizen charged with China’s national security law appears in court 

A pro-democracy protester in Hong Kong has appeared in court for the first time after becoming the first citizen in the city to face punishment under Beijing’s national security law.

Tong Ying-kit, 23, is charged with inciting secession and engaging in terrorism against China‘s controversial legislation for carrying a ‘Liberate Hong Kong’ sign as he drove a motorcycle into police at a protest last Wednesday. 

Mr Tong has been remanded in custody after the court denied his bail application as the judge has sufficient grounds to believe the defendant will continue to endanger national security, according to the authorities.

Beijing officially passed the new law on the former British colony last week despite protests from Hong Kongers and Western nations, setting China’s freest city and a major financial hub on a more authoritarian track. 

Critics say the law – which punishes crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison – is aimed at crushing dissent and a long-running campaign for greater democracy. 

Mr Tong, who carried a flag that read ‘Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times’ as he drove a motorcycle into police at a protest against the territory’s Chinese rulers, became the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under the new security law last Friday.

The 23-year-old activist made his first appearance in West Kowloon Court on Monday afternoon after being hospitalised due to a fractured leg kept since the July 1 protest, where he is accused of violating the new legislation. 

Mr Tong is accused of ramming and injuring some officers at an illegal protest on Wednesday, according to police.

A video circulating online shows a motorbike knocking over several officers on a narrow street before the driver falls over and is arrested. 

But he has been remanded in custody after the court rejected his bail application. The trial is adjourned till October 6.

In rejecting bail, Chief Magistrate So Wai-tak referred to Article 42 of the new law, which states that bail will not be granted if the judge has sufficient grounds to believe the defendant will continue to endanger national security.  

The top American diplomat in Hong Kong has described the use of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s new national security law to curb freedoms as a ‘tragedy’. 

Hanscom Smith, the US consul general to Hong Kong and Macau, told reporters: ‘Using the national security law to erode fundamental freedoms and to create an atmosphere of coercion and self-censorship is a tragedy for Hong Kong.

‘Hong Kong has been successful precisely because of its openness and we’ll do everything we can to maintain that.’

The law, imposed last week following anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year, makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs.

Any person taking part in activities such as shouting slogans or holding up banners and flags calling for the city’s independence is violating the law, regardless of whether violence is used.

Critics see the move as Beijing’s boldest step yet to erase the legal firewall between the former British colony and the mainland’s authoritarian Communist Party system.

Since the law came into effect, the government has also specified that the popular protest slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time’ has separatist connotations and is thus criminalised.

In Hong Kong’s public libraries, books by pro-democracy figures have been pulled from the shelves, including those authored by prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and politician Tanya Chan.

The authority in charge of libraries said it is reviewing the books in light of the new legislation.

Many pro-democracy shops that publicly stood in solidarity with protesters have removed pro-democracy sticky notes and artwork that adorned the walls of their stores, fearful that the content might violate the new law.

More than 300 people were arrested on July 1 for offences including unlawful assemblies, disorderly conduct in public places, furious driving, and breach of then national security law, the police said.

In a further ominous sign for activists, a Communist Party cadre prominent during a 2011 clampdown on land rights protesters in a south China village is to head a newly-empowered national security office in Hong Kong, official news agency Xinhua said. 

Zheng Yanxiong, 57, most recently served as secretary general of the Communist Party committee of Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong.

The new legislation gives the security office greater enforcement action and powers to take suspects onto the mainland, as well as granting privileges for agents, including that Hong Kong authorities cannot inspect their vehicles.

Some activists have been keeping a low profile or leaving.

Demosisto, a pro-democracy group led by Joshua Wong, disbanded hours after the legislation was passed, while prominent group member Nathan Law left the city.

‘The protests in Hong Kong have been a window for the world to recognise that China is getting more and more authoritarian,’ Law told Reuters.

Hong Kong’s publicly-funded public broadcaster RTHK, which has felt the pressure of government scrutiny, appeared to take heed of the law, reproducing the slogan as ‘L*******#HongKong’ in a comment on Twitter, to the scorn of some social media users.