A 36-year-old man has been charged with sedition under Hong Kong national security legislation over social media posts.
The man, who was arrested on Tuesday in Eastern District, will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday afternoon, the government has said in a statement.
The man was apprehended on suspicion of committing “knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention.”
“The investigation revealed that the arrested man was suspected of repeatedly publishing posts with seditious intentions on social platforms, with content provoking hatred towards the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Judiciary, calling for sanction against government officials as well as inciting violence,” the government has said.
According to a legal document, the defendant is a bus technician named Li Chun-kit. The defence did not apply for bail. He will be detained in custody until his case is next scheduled to be mentioned in court on March 3.
Li was accused of “publishing statements, photos, and/or pictures on Facebook with an intent to bring people into hatred, contempt or disaffection against” Hong Kong, and inciting violence or unlawful acts between March 29 last year and January 21.
36-year-old Hong Kong man charged under Article 23 security law over ‘seditious’ online posts