Pro-democracy activist and popular radio DJ Tam Tak-chi [7], also known as "Fast Beat [8]," was found guilty April 20 of "seditious speech" and sentenced [9] to 40 months in prison by the Hong Kong District Court. The former vice-chair of the People Power [10] party is the first person since Hong Kong's 1997 handover to stand trial for "sedition" under the Crimes Ordinance [19] dating to the period of British colonial rule. Tam was arrested in July 2020, shortly after China imposed its sweeping National Security Law [11] on the city, and has been in detention ever since, having been denied bail. He was found guilty of using the slogans "Liberate Hong Kong [12]" and "Revolution of our times [13]" at protests between January and July 2020. He was also accused of cursing at the police. Tam said that he would appeal the decision, stating [14] that "my sentencing will affect Hongkongers' freedom of speech." Human Rights Watch senior China researcher Maya Wang stated [15] that Tam's sentence "exemplifies the dizzying speed at which Hong Kong's freedoms are being eroded." (Jurist [20], HKFP [21])
