A Hong Kong waiter has become the latest person charged with inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
Chan Ho-hin, 22, appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday to face the charge, according to local media reports.
He was charged on April 30 with one count of “knowingly publishing articles with seditious intent” under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – Hong Kong’s homegrown security law, popularly known as Article 23 – and has been remanded in custody since.
The defendant allegedly posted seditious publications on social media platforms X and Instagram between June 2024 and April this year.
But prosecutors on Wednesday sought to amend the charge, upgrading it from sedition to inciting subversion.
The new subversion charge alleges that Chan incited others to “organise, plan, commit or participate in… overthrowing the body of central power of the People’s Republic of China or the body of power of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.”
Senior Public Prosecutor Elisa Cheng applied for a four-week adjournment to prepare for the case to be committed to the District Court.
Chief Magistrate Victor So approved Cheng’s application and scheduled the next hearing for August 8. Chan did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody.
Under the Beijing-imposed security law, inciting subversion could be punished by up to 10 years behind bars for cases of a “serious nature,” while those of a “minor nature” could be jailed for up to five years.
The maximum jail sentence for a case heard in the District Court is capped at seven years.
The sedition charge under Article 23 carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.
A total of 189 people and five companies have been charged under the Beijing-imposed security law since it came into effect on June 30, 2020, following the pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019.
The law criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
