A Hong Kong man has been remanded in custody after being charged with sedition for allegedly publishing social media posts calling on others not to vote or to cast invalid ballots in the upcoming “patriots only” legislative elections.
Lam Chung-ming, 68, was brought to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday afternoon to face one count of “knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention.”
According to the police, he was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of repeatedly posting content on social media that not only provoked hatred toward the Hong Kong government, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies, but also incited people not to vote or to cast an invalid ballot in an election.
Local media reported on Thursday that the prosecution applied for an adjournment to give police time to conduct further investigation.
The police seized two computers and three phones from Lam’s residence and said it needed time to review the content to see whether other crimes were involved.
Chief Magistrate Victor So, a designated national security judge, denied bail to Lam and ordered him to remain in detention pending his next court appearance on December 30.
Also on Thursday, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) – which oversees the election legislation – charged three people with sharing online posts urging an election boycott and issued warrants for the arrests of two others not in the city.
Hong Kong authorities have been cracking down on calls for invalid votes and boycotts of the Legislative Council (LegCo) elections on December 7 – the second legislative vote after the city overhauled its electoral system in 2021 to ensure only patriots can run.
A total of 161 candidates are vying for 90 seats in the geographical, functional, and Election Committee constituencies. Only 20 seats will be directly elected by around 4.14 million registered voters in their respective geographical constituencies.
Sedition is not covered by the Beijing-imposed national security law, which targets secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
It was previously criminalised under the colonial-era Crimes Ordinance, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. That law was repealed in March 2024, when Hong Kong enacted its homegrown security legislation, better known as Article 23 legislation, which raised the maximum penalty for sedition to seven years in prison.
Separate from the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature.
The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.
