Stiffer penalties for sedition under Hong Kong’s new Article 23 bill and no need to prove ‘incitement to violence’ for accused to be found guilty

Stiffer maximum penalties for the offence of sedition that will more than triple the current two years of imprisonment to seven years are being proposed under Hong Kong’s new domestic security bill.

The offence of seditious intention will also no longer require the element of incitement of violence to constitute a crime, according to the new legislation that was presented to the Legislative Council on Friday for scrutiny by lawmakers.

Under the proposed law, a person with seditious intention is defined as one inciting hatred or disaffection on the public officers of Hong Kong or offices of mainland China’s central authorities in the city.

They could also have an intention to cause “hatred or enmity” among different residents of Hong Kong or those of different regions of China.

But unlike the current sedition offence listed under the Crimes Ordinance, which includes “[inciting] persons to violence” as one of the criteria for seditious intention, the proposed law states explicitly that “proof of intention to incite public disorder or to incite violence not necessary”.

In a consultation document before the proposed law was gazetted on Friday, the government had said that offenders might not have incited others to commit violence but the “cumulative effects” of incitement was that “any large-scale riots once commenced will spiral out of control”.

Offenders can be sentenced to a maximum penalty of seven years in jail under the proposed security legislation, compared with two years under the current law.

Those found to be “colluding with an external force” for seditious intention will be subject to a maximum 10 years in prison.