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Hong Kong student at Japanese university jailed for 2 months for sedition after she created 13 social media posts calling for city’s independence
- Magistrate says Mika Yuen, 23, wanted to ‘incite others to reject the lawful governance of the central government’
- Prosecution led to questions as to whether sedition law applicable to acts done overseas, as only two of 13 offensive posts published while she was in city
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A Hong Kong student at a Japanese university has been jailed for two months after she admitted publication of 13 pro-independence social media posts in breach of a colonial-era sedition law.
West Kowloon Court on Friday dismissed a defence suggestion to suspend Mika Yuen Ching-ting’s sentence after it considered her intent to “incite others to reject the lawful governance of the central government and induce dissatisfaction among people”.
Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak, approved by the chief executive to hear national security proceedings, emphasised there was nothing in the sedition legislation that would allow the court to adopt a lenient approach to sentencing.
So also blamed 23-year-old Yuen for a failure to remove or withdraw her posts after the first sedition prosecution in more than two decades made it clear that what she had done could constitute criminal liability.
“The accused, across a substantial period of time, repeatedly promoted messages undermining the country’s territorial integrity and advocated Hong Kong’s independence and secession,” So said.
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