On Monday, a Hong Kong resident admitted guilt to sedition-related charges at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court for allegedly wearing a shirt with a slogan critical of the regime in Beijing.
Chu Kai-pong was accused by prosecutors of displaying the offending garment with the words “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” while he loitered at a public railway station on June 12.
The 27-year-old also confessed to having a facemask on during his arrest exhibiting the initials F.D.N.O.L., a popular acronym used by opponents of the Chinese government that stands for "five demands, not one less.”
Chu was the first person to be convicted under the city's newly enacted security law, which critics, including the U.S. State Department, argue was designed to target dissenters who are against the island’s governing authorities. The new legislation escalated the penalties for sedition from a maximum of two to seven years.
Chu is expected to be sentenced on Thursday.
