Hongkonger Living in Japan Sentenced to 3 Years 9 Months After Returning to Hong Kong

Chan Wai Yiu was arrested for participating in the 2019 anti-extradition protests after returning to see his sick mother.

The police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, on Aug. 31, 2019. Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times

A 27-year-old Hongkonger living in Japan who was charged for participating in the 2019 anti-extradition protests after returning to Hong Kong to see his sick mother was sentenced on March 20 to three years and nine months in prison for alleged rioting.

Large-scale protests broke out in Hong Kong in 2019 against a revised draft of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which was aimed at allowing Hong Kong people to be extradited to mainland China for trial.

On Aug. 31, 2019, a large crowd gathered on Hong Kong Island, and the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. The defendant, Chan Wai Yiu, who was 21 years old at the time of the incident, was arrested in Wan Chai district and granted bail.

He later traveled to Japan in 2020, intending to acquire permanent residence there. He was then arrested when he returned to Hong Kong in 2023 to visit his sick mother. The defendant originally pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty before trial.

District Court Judge Kathie Cheung said during sentencing that the defendant was wearing black clothes, gloves, and a mask at the protest. More gloves, masks, and air filters were found in his backpack.

Regarding the defense’s claim that the defendant only possessed protective items and did not commit violent acts, Cheung said that the defendant not only wore black clothes but also possessed masks and gloves commonly used by demonstrators, which was enough to infer his direct participation in riots, according to the judge.

Cheung ruled that five years would be the starting point for sentencing. There were no mitigating factors other than the guilty plea, and he was sentenced to 45 months in prison.

Rule of Law in Question

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) implemented the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong in 2020, Hong Kong’s rule of law has been questioned by rights advocates around the world.

Robert Reed, president of the UK Supreme Court, and Patrick Hodge, deputy president, both resigned as non-permanent judges of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal in 2022. The former said that he “cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression.”

Former British Supreme Court judges Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins were the next to resign in 2024. Sumption said that the rule of law in Hong Kong is “profoundly compromised,” and it has become difficult for judges to maintain judicial independence in an oppressive environment.

Other Hongkongers Arrested

Earlier cases of overseas Hong Kong residents who supported the pro-democracy movement and were arrested after returning to Hong Kong include Chui Hoi Chun, an 18-year-old who was arrested in 2022 when returned from New Zealand.

He was accused of insulting the CCP’s flag and the national anthem in a post on social media and was sentenced to a detention center.

In 2023, Yuen Ching-ting, a 23-year-old who studied in Japan, was arrested when she returned to Hong Kong. She was sentenced to two months in prison for “incitement” after a social media post she published while in Japan allegedly promoted Hong Kong independence.