Jail terms for abusing Chinese national anthem too long, say Hong Kong solicitors
- A proposed new law would outlaw any public and deliberate insult of March of the Volunteers
- The Law Society says the planned punishments, and the time allowed for investigation, are too long
Jail terms proposed under a Hong Kong government plan to criminalise abuse of the national anthem are too long, the city’s professional body for solicitors has said.
The Law Society, echoing similar opinions from the Bar Association, also said the planned prosecution period was too long.
The controversial bill aims to regulate how March of the Volunteers is played and sung. If passed, it would criminalise any public and deliberate insult of the anthem, with penalties of up to HK$50,000 (US$6,370) or three years in jail.
It would also give the authorities up to two years to investigate abuses, longer than the six months in which prosecutors are typically required to press charges heard by magistrates’ courts.
In a submission to lawmakers on Wednesday, the Law Society questioned the two key features of the bill.
“As for the time limit period for prosecution, we hold the view that the proposed two-year period is too long,” the society wrote. “The alleged acts are not technical. The usual six-month time period as allowed for in the Magistrates Ordinance should be followed.”