A Hong Kong activist was sentenced to jail under the national security law for chanting political slogans, in a decision that legal experts warned could lead to more prosecutions and greater restrictions on free speech in the Asian financial hub.
Ma Chun-man, a 31-year-old former food delivery worker, was found guilty of inciting secession last month for making the chants at protests in 2020 that were deemed “pro-independence”.
Ma, who became the first person to be jailed for chanting political slogans under the security law, was sentenced to five years and nine months on Thursday.
The national security law was imposed by Beijing on the city following pro-democracy protests in 2019. The law has led to at least 155 arrests, including journalists, former lawmakers and students.
Critics said the sentencing created new “red lines” under the law, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Ma had argued during his trial that he was testing the limits of the rule, rather than calling for Hong Kong’s independence from China.
The judge said Ma showed “no remorse” and had clear intentions to promote his political beliefs to other people. Ma’s lawyers have not yet decided whether they would file an appeal.
Lin Feng, associate dean of the City University of Hong Kong’s law school, said: “There is no doubt that Ma’s case is about the limits of free speech. Free speech is a relative right, instead of an absolute right.
“If Ma’s case were to be followed, displaying and chanting secessionist slogans publicly would have [a] high chance of being prosecuted.”
Thomas E Kellogg, Georgetown University’s executive director of the Centre for Asian Law, said Ma’s conviction could lead to authorities taking an “almost zero-tolerance approach” to dissident voices.
“Given that the security law [has] put so many weapons in the hands of the prosecution . . . I think defence counsel taking up these cases need to develop new strategies,” he said.
