Hong Kong protests: internet radio host ‘Giggs’ gets 32 months in jail for inciting revolt against Beijing, local government and laundering more than HK$10 million
- Edmund Wan, 54, admits violating sedition law by advocating city’s independence and resistance against local and state authorities in 39 episodes of two online shows
- Money he handled believed to be from crowdfunding campaign, through which young protesters would be subsidised to leave Hong Kong and study in Taiwan
Edmund Wan Yiu-Sing, better known as “Giggs”, was escorted back to the District Court on Friday to be sanctioned over offences under which he was convicted last month by a judge hand-picked by the city’s leader to oversee national security cases.
The 54-year-old earlier acknowledged he had crossed the line delineated by a 1938 sedition law by advocating Hong Kong’s independence, Taiwan’s self-determination, and resistance against the city’s government and the Chinese Communist Party in 39 episodes of his two online shows between February and November, 2020.
He had also encouraged his audience to attack Hong Kong officials, vote in an opposition-led unofficial primary election for the legislature in 2020, and support anti-government protesters who had absconded to Taiwan, the court heard.
Wan pleaded guilty in September to a count of conspiracy to commit acts with seditious intention – an offence determined by the city’s top court to endanger national security – after spending nearly 19 months behind bars since he was charged.
Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching found Wan’s sedition offence more serious than most of the previous cases, noting he had taken advantage of his influence as a media personality and the reach of online platforms to further his criminal agenda.
“At the time of the offence, Hong Kong was confronted with a series of unprecedented, continuous, extremely violent breaches of the law, which included many large-scale, prolonged riots or violent unlawful assemblies, which affected large areas or different areas,” Tse said.