NBC
Chu Kai-pong, 27, was arrested at a subway station in the Chinese territory on June 12 while wearing a T-shirt bearing a protest slogan.
HONG KONG — A Hong Kong man pleaded guilty Monday to sedition for wearing a T-shirt bearing a protest slogan in the Chinese territory’s first conviction under new local national security legislation.
Chu Kai-pong, 27, was arrested at a subway station on June 12 wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.” He was also wearing a yellow mask that said “FDNOL,” which stands for “five demands, not one less.”
Both slogans and the color yellow were associated with mass pro-democracy protests in 2019 that roiled the international financial hub for months, and a Hong Kong court ruled in 2021 that the “Liberate Hong Kong” phrase was capable of inciting secession. Chu was arrested on the anniversary of an early clash between protesters and police in 2019.
Chu told police that he wore the T-shirt to remind people of the protests, the court heard, according to Reuters. He pleaded guilty to one count of “doing an act with a seditious intention.”
Chu was previously jailed for sedition for three months in January for wearing a T-shirt with the same “Liberate Hong Kong” slogan. He was arrested in November wearing the shirt at the Hong Kong airport.
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