Three+ years in jail for saying horrid things about the government | Brrrrr… It’s getting chilly here

Ex TV presenter, Tam Tat-chi cops 40 months in jail. See underlined above. Tam sentenced for “vilifying the government” and “denigrating the National Security Law”. Gosh! That could be anyone. A “human rights observer” (unnamed) calls the ruling “harsh” says Hong Kong’s freedoms are being eroded at “dizzying speed’. 

The NSL is vague and open to scarily wide interpretation. It’s draconian. Is that “denigrating” it? Have I “vilified the government” by calling its Covid policies stupid?

Tam is a bit of a prima-donna and a bit crazy with some of his sloganeering. “Revolution of our times” (时代革命, Shidai geming). I thought it crazy at the time. But should being flamboyant and a bit crazy cop you 40 months’ lockup?

Judge Stanley Chan does his own grandstanding. Some of his comments at the sentencing are truly awful. He calls Tam “a peasant”. Whaaaat? He demeans Tam’s Christianity. The Judge is a mind reader, too, apparently. Says of Tam “The purpose of the defendant’s grandstanding campaign … was without a doubt… to enter the Legislative Council…”. Did Tam say that? No? Then you’re mind reading, Judge Chan.