First Hong Kong man charged under new law arrives in court

A 23-year-old man who became the first person in Hong Kong to be charged under the new national security law arrived at court on Monday. Tong Ying-kit was charged for allegedly driving a motorcycle into a group of policemen while bearing a black flag with the “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” slogan.

Video from Cable TV and social media showed the motorbike rider driving through some streets in the Wanchai district of Hong Kong Island last Wednesday, and riding directly into lines of police. Hong Kong police Friday took this case to court, charging the rider with secession and terrorism under the new law, according to local media. The motorbike rider was still in hospital, so he did not appear in court Friday.

But his is the first case to go to trial, with a new law in Hong Kong, that makes it illegal to use certain words and phrases that the Hong Kong government now says are related to national security. The new law, imposed last week following anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year, makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs. Any person taking part in activities such as shouting slogans or holding up banners and flags calling for the city’s independence is violating the law regardless of whether violence is used.