3-11-2023 (HONG KONG) A Hong Kong court has sentenced a student to two months in prison for charges of sedition relating to pro-independence social media posts she made while studying in Japan. This marks the first known case of a Hong Konger convicted under the colonial-era sedition law for online speech while abroad.
Chief Magistrate Victor So handed down the two-month prison sentence following the student’s guilty plea. So emphasized the need for a deterrent sentence, stating that “ignorant people would be incited subtly.”
Mika Yuen, a 23-year-old student, pleaded guilty to sedition in late October. She faced charges for 13 pro-Hong Kong independence social media posts on Facebook and Instagram, which were published between September 2018 and March 2023. Most of these posts were made while she was studying in Japan and included messages like “I am a Hongkonger; I advocate for Hong Kong independence” and “Hong Kong independence, the only way out.” Only two of the alleged social media posts were published in Hong Kong.
Yuen was arrested in March after returning to Hong Kong to renew her identity card. The defence had previously challenged whether the magistrate’s court had jurisdiction over posts published abroad but dropped the dispute as the content remained online.
During the mitigation stage, her defence lawyer, Steven Kwan, argued that Yuen had a relatively small number of friends and followers on her social media account. He also contended that Yuen had become more open-minded after studying politics at a law school in Japan, suggesting that the chance of her re-offending was low.
Sedition carries a maximum jail term of two years upon conviction but is not one of the offences criminalized by the Beijing-imposed national security law. However, the Court of Final Appeal has classified sedition as an act that can endanger national security.
Scholars and overseas activists have expressed concern over the implications of this case, seeing it as an alarming escalation in the chilling effect experienced by those who continue to engage with Hong Kong affairs from abroad.
Tomoko Ako, a sociology and China studies professor at the University of Tokyo, emphasized the need for the Japanese government, universities, and society to take the case seriously. Ako expressed concern about the gradual erosion of freedoms that have been taken for granted.
Athena Tong, a board member of the Japan Hong Kong Democracy Alliance, highlighted the impact of this case on the perception of safety among members of the Hong Kong diaspora. She noted that the case exemplifies the extent to which the government suppresses freedom of speech on a global scale and might deter individuals from traveling to Hong Kong for personal reasons, potentially risking political prosecution.
