A Portuguese man has become the first European citizen jailed under the China-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong, a law widely criticised by rights groups.

Joseph John, also known as Wong Kin-chung, holds dual Portuguese and Hong Kong nationality and was previously based in the UK.

He was arrested for posting pro-independence and anti-China content on social media, after returning to Hong Kong to visit family in 2022

In February, he was convicted of “secession” and on Thursday sentenced to five years in jail.

  • unexposedhazard
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    9 months ago
    • Go to region with a civil cold war
    • Express opinion
    • Get arrested
    • Be surprised???

    Same with the people going to russia or dubai. This dude was actually a semi citizen of hong kong so surely he knew that it was dangerous to go there.

    Edit: As people seem to be mad, i am not saying he deserves any of this. Its horrible what the people of Hong Kong are forced to go through, but there is this thing called “travel advisories” that every western country has for its citizens. If you take 5mins to look at the info for hong kong you would realize that no sane person would ever willingly go there in the current political climate.

      • unexposedhazard
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        9 months ago

        If they dont give any words to their disagreement im just gonna assume they are china fanboys that think nothing is wrong with chinas treatment of hongkong.

          • unexposedhazard
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            9 months ago

            Have you not seen these kinds of people on here before? They just downvote you for saying something objectively true like “There is a Uyghur genocide”

            Your reply implies that i dont, but its pretty obvious from my comment that i do “care about whats happening in hong kong”. So whats your point?

            • blazera@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Im talking about the guy that went to hong kong, you seem to be wondering why. Im saying maybe he cares about hong kong

              • unexposedhazard
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                9 months ago

                OOoh thats the first time that “they” plural and “they” singular led to confusion for me lol Yeah ofcourse i cant blame him for caring about his home and family, but being in prison doesnt help either of those i think.

                But i admit i am in no position to judge his decision, because i simply cant imagine what its like to be in that position.

    • JeffKerman1999@sopuli.xyz
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      9 months ago

      This dude is right, why the downvotes?

      Don’t go in the lion den if you don’t want to be eaten

      • neo@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        To answer your question: The comment comes across as criticism, in a way similar to saying: “Sophie Scholl new the Nazis were killers. If she’s been executed, it’s her own fault for being part of the resistance.” (a deliberately exaggerated comparison)

        It’s accepting evil power, instead of fighting back or at least supporting those who try to push back.

    • sqgl@beehaw.org
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      9 months ago

      And BBC are click-baiting by not saying dual citizen in the headline.