HKFP
The ruling in Tam Tak-chi’s appeal is expected to have far-reaching ramifications, with the verdict in the Stand News sedition case delayed pending the outcome of Tam’s appeal.
Pro-democracy radio DJ Tam Tak-chi has lost a bid to appeal his conviction and 40-month sentence under the city’s colonial-era sedition law, in a case that promises to have far-reaching ramifications for Hong Kong’s legal landscape.
Better known as “Fast Beat,” Tam launched his appeal bid last July, after being found guilty of 11 charges, including seven counts of “uttering seditious words,” in March 2022. He was sentenced the following month.
Tam stood accused of chanting the controversial slogan “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” a phrase ruled as capable of inciting others to commit secession in the city’s first national security trial. He was also accused of insulting the police by describing them as “damned black cops.”
The Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled that Tam did not need to have an intention to incite violence to be found guilty of sedition, and that sedition offences must be interpreted with respect to the “specific legal and social landscape” to which they pertain.
During the appeal hearing last July, Tam’s barrister Philip Dykes argued that Hong Kong’s sedition law fell short of international standards as it failed to include a defendant’s intent to incite violence as an essential element of the offence.
Pro-democracy DJ Tam Tak-chi loses bid to appeal ‘seditious’ speech conviction and jail term
