'Liberate Hong Kong' slogan explained

Wallis Wang

The slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" means secession or subversion in political terms, prosecutor Anthony Chau said in his opening statement.

In doing so he quoted history professor Lau Chi-pang at Lingnan University as saying the slogan connotes "Hong Kong independence," or separating Hong Kong from China, altering the legal status of the SAR or subverting state power.

Lau also said "Liberate Hong Kong" means snatching Hong Kong from enemies, so not accepting Hong Kong as part of China and seeing Chinese authorities as the enemy.

And "Revolution of our times" also means changing sovereignty.

Chau said that Lau had traced the slogan to localist Leung Tin-kei in a campaign rally for the New Territories East by-election in 2016.

It was also used when protesters vandalized the central government liaison office on July 21, 2019. That "had the objective of rejecting the PRC government by means of damaging the national emblem and facilities."

The context of the slogan had also been consistent and had never undergone any obvious change.

Chau also said the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" was used in 213 protests between June 2019 and July 2020. Its use was related to independence and other political views attempting to subvert Beijing and the SAR government.

Before the hearing started, two middle-aged men were seen taking photographs of the public gallery and reporters inside. Court personnel called in the police after complaints were made, and one of the men was taken away by officers.

Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping reminded people at the beginning of the hearing that no photographs or drawings are allowed inside the court, and interfering with legal proceedings would not help either the prosecution or the defense.

The police said a report was received from court staff yesterday, saying someone was taking photographs using a mobile phone inside the court.

A 54-year-old man was taken to a police station by a criminal investigation team from Central.