Hong Kong Man Charged With ‘Publicly Mutilating’ Chinese National Flag

A delivery man in Hong Kong was charged with desecrating the Chinese flag, making him the third protestor arrested for offenses toward the flag since June when unrest over a now withdrawn extradition bill began. Law Man-chung, 21, was brought to Sha Tin Court on Tuesday to face the charges along with three others from a “singing protest” held at a local shopping mall.

The official charges were one count of flag desecration described as “publicly and willfully mutilating, scrawling on, defiling and trampling” the flag in the vicinity of New Town Plaza and Sha Tin Town Hall. The Acting Principal Magistrate Ko Wai-hung adjourned the case to Oct. 15 so Law could seek legal advice.

Law was ordered to pay 10,000 Hong Kong dollar ($1,275) cash bail, to obey a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and to stay 100 meters (328ft) clear of New Town Plaza. He also must report to the police three times each week.

Several other arrests have recently been made in Hong Kong:

• Wong Cheuk-lai, 22, a solar panel technician was charged with conspiracy to desecrate the flag at a public swimming pool on Sept. 1.
• Tang Chi-lok, a 21-year-old waiter, was accused of defiling the flag outside Tuen Mun Town Hall on Saturday.
• An unidentified 13-year-old girl was accused of defiling the flag and was scheduled to face the court Friday.
• Police admitted that they are investigating nine flag-related cases including the three arrests.

Considered a “blasphemy”, Hong Kong laws mirror the Chinese penal code for flag desecration. Violators face imprisonment for up to three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights by intentionally burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling upon the flag in public.

Compared to the United States, where flag burning as a protest is protected by the First Amendment (freedom of speech), the most severe charge might be for petty larceny if the flag burning is performed on property not owned by the protester.

Meanwhile, the protests continued this weekend with other non-flag related arrests made in separate incidents. Saleslady Chan Lok-yi, 24, engineer Chau Kam-wai, 23, and property agent Edmund Wong Yat-lam, 43, were charged with taking part in a riot outside Lucky Plaza on Sunday.

The charges against Chau included possession of offensive weapons in a public place and obstructing a police officer in addition to participating in the riot. He was carrying some small hand tools “without a reasonable excuse.” All three defendants remained free on HK$10,000 cash bail and were ordered to return to court on Nov. 26.