Trial focuses on 'Liberate Hong Kong' slogan

Convicted localist Edward Leung Tin-kei created the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of the times" to support Hong Kong independence, a Lingnan University expert witness testified yesterday in the trial of the SAR's first national security defendant, Tong Ying-kit.

The slogan was first used by Leung in the New Territories East by-election in 2016 and has since carried a connotation of independence, the university's associate vice-president, Lau Chi-pang, told the high court.

Tong, a 24-year-old waiter, allegedly drove his motorcycle into police in Wan Chai while flying a flag with the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of the times" last July 1 - the day the national security law went into effect.

He has pleaded not guilty to inciting secession, terrorism and an alternative charge of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm to three police officers.

Lau told national security judges Anthea Pang Po-kam, Esther Toh Lye-ping and Wilson Chan Ka-shun that Leung believed Beijing does not have the right to handle Hong Kong affairs.

Leung also believed the public should resist SAR authority, he added.

Leung began serving a six-year term at Lantau's Shek Pik Prison in 2018 after being convicted of rioting and assaulting police during the 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest.

The police found the slogan was used by protesters on 218 days last year, Lau said, and some violence occurred when the it was heard.

Lau said when protesters chanted the slogan near the central government liaison office on July 21, 2019, they were challenging China's authority to govern the SAR. The slogan would always be used with activities damaging social order, including burning and trampling on the national flag, Lau said, and it had a direct connection to Hong Kong independence.

Lau also said two defense expert witnesses - the University of Hong Kong's Eliza Lee Wing-yee and the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Francis Lee Lap-fung - are not history professors.

He also said that they analyzed the slogan in a contemporary context with dology used in social science, Lau said.

Under cross-examination, Lau was asked by Tong's lawyer, Clive Grossman, to explain the latest interpretation of the slogan in 2021. He said it meant taking back jurisdiction of Hong Kong from China by changing local officials. The trial continues today.