Hong Kong’s top court upholds sedition conviction for ‘Fast Beat’ Tam Tak-chi

Hong Kong’s top court has upheld the sedition conviction of an opposition activist jailed under a colonial-era law, ruling that a person can be held liable for the crime even if he has no intention to incite violence or public disorder.

In a written ruling handed down on Thursday, the Court of Final Appeal also rejected Tam Tak-chi’s contention that the now-repealed offence must be tried before a judge and jury.

Tam, better known as “Fast Beat” from his days as an online radio host, was jailed for 40 months at the District Court in 2022 on 11 charges over a raft of offensive conduct during public gatherings in the aftermath of the 2019 anti-government protests.

The 53-year-old appellant was previously granted one last chance to appeal, but only on technical grounds, after the top court ruled the 1938 sedition law struck a fair balance between restricting free speech and protecting national security and public order.

Tam’s legal counsel argued that prosecutors were required to show that a defendant intended to incite violence or public disorder to secure a conviction for a sedition offence under Sections 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance.

But the top court said it was only one of seven forms of seditious intentions stipulated by the law. The forms also included intentions to incite hatred towards authorities and counsel disobedience to any lawful order.