Hong Kong student at university in Japan granted bail on social media sedition charge
- Court told Yuen Ching-ting posted 22 seditious statements on social media, 20 of them while she was in Japan
- Defence counsel argues that Hong Kong courts have no extraterritorial jurisdiction on statements made abroad
A Hong Kong student at a Japanese university has been granted bail in connection with a sedition charge over a string of pro-independence statements she allegedly posted on social media, most of them while abroad.
Yuen Ching-ting, 23, was released on Friday pending trial, but with strict conditions the magistrate said would ease any concerns that she might threaten national security.
Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen, who is approved by city leader John Lee Ka-chiu to hear the case, said: “In light of the latest circumstances, I am satisfied that her risk of committing further acts endangering national security is low.”
He was speaking after Yuen appeared at West Kowloon Court to face a charge that she committed acts with seditious intent under colonial-era legislation.
Yuen was released on a HK$10,000 (US$1,280) cash bond and a guarantee for the same amount put up by her mother.
She was banned from travelling, ordered to report to police on a regular basis and avoid contact with prosecution witnesses.
The magistrate also ordered Yuen to comply with eight special conditions related to safeguarding national security, including removing the allegedly offensive articles already published and allowing police access to her social media accounts if asked.
A charge sheet available for press inspection said the undergraduate had published and continued to make available seditious statements posted on Facebook and Instagram between September 2018 and this past March.
But the court heard only two of the 22 posts said to have promoted Hong Kong’s separation from the rest of the country were published while Yuen was in the city.
Defence counsel Jason Ko Lun argued the prosecution case was marred by three legal pitfalls, including the court’s lack of jurisdiction.
“The majority of posts in the present case were not published in Hong Kong,” Ko said. “The offence of sedition does not contain a provision conferring extraterritorial jurisdiction on the court, which remains the case at present.”
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He added the prosecution had failed to take action within six months of the alleged offence, as required by law. Ko also noted the last post linked to the charge was made more than a year ago.
He asked the court to first rule on the legal disputes before it allowed the case to proceed, but Law said they should be settled during the trial.
But the magistrate agreed the court should first consider a third contention by the defence as to whether the magistrates’ court was the appropriate venue for the case to be heard.
Yuen is expected to return to court in early August.
National security police arrested Yuen at her home in Kwun Tong on March 8, a day before her scheduled flight to Japan.
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It is not the first time a resident has faced sedition charges for allegedly offensive statements made overseas.
Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak ruled at the time the defendant could still be held liable because he had permitted the content to remain on social media and that the posts involved were intended for a Hong Kong audience.
Sedition carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail for a first offence.
The Court of Final Appeal has ruled the offence capable of endangering national security, so defendants can face bigger obstacles to bail.
Sedition cases can also only be heard by judges endorsed by the chief executive.
