People’s Daily says Hong Kong protester who trampled national flag was making separatist statement and demands stiffer punishment
- Communist Party mouthpiece urges city’s justice department to appeal community service order
- Online commentary brands Hong Kong judiciary ‘unprofessional and biased’
The Communist Party’s mouthpiece has weighed in on the case of a Hong Kong protester who desecrated the national flag, urging the city’s justice department to appeal and seek a heftier punishment.
In a commentary published online on Thursday, the People’s Daily said there should be serious punishment for anyone who abused the national flag, as it was tantamount to issuing an open statement of separatism.
The article came two days after Law Man-chung, 21, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service at Sha Tin Court, after it heard that on September 22, he tossed a Chinese flag into the air during an anti-government protest, trampled on it, and then threw it into a rubbish bin that was later pushed into a pool.
Law was the first Hong Kong protester to admit to desecrating the Chinese flag during anti-government protests, saying he did it “out of fun”.
