Hong Kong: opening of second trial for undermining national security

A Hong Kong man who chanted protest slogans pleaded not guilty to inciting secession on Tuesday, September 28, in the second trial in Hong Kong under the drastic national security law that Beijing imposed to overcome of dissent.

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Ma Chun-man, a 31-year-old former meal delivery boy, is accused of attempting to separate Hong Kong from China by chanting slogans and showing signs, as well as responding to reporters during twenty protests between August and November last year.

No violent act but words

The city's first national security trial took place in July, when a man was convicted of terrorism and secession after running into police with his motorbike while displaying a flag in protest.

But in Ma Chun-man's case, as in the vast majority of upcoming national security trials, the offenses do not involve a violent act and instead revolve around talking.

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Most of those charged under the National Security Act are denied bail, and Ma has been in detention since his arrest ten months ago.

If found guilty, he faces up to seven years in prison.

Prosecutors said Ma chanted the slogans "

Free Hong Kong, the revolution of our time,

" "

Hong Kong independence the only way out,

" "

Hong Kongers, let's build our own country,

" "

One nation, one Hong Kong

”and“

All will be valiant, let's start an armed uprising

”. In July, judges ruled that "

Free Hong Kong, the revolution of our time

", a popular protest slogan, was secessionist. According to prosecutors, Ma made it clear that she intended to challenge the security law and called on others to protest its implementation.

"

The Basic Law guarantees the freedom of expression of Hong Kong people,

" he said during one of the rallies preceding his arrest, referring to the city's mini-constitution.

In another interview, he said his definition of "

revolution

" meant that Hong Kong people must regain their sovereignty and gain the right to elect their own leaders by universal suffrage.

A law for a "tiny minority"

China says the National Security Law is necessary to restore order in Hong Kong after the 2019 protests and would affect only a "

tiny minority

."

But it transformed the city, radically reshaping its political, cultural and legal landscape.

More than 70 people, including many of the city's most prominent democracy activists, have since been charged with crimes against national security, almost all for defending political views now deemed illegal.