Hong Kong Man Pleads Guilty to Sedition Over Election Boycott Materials

A 55-year-old construction worker has pleaded guilty in a Hong Kong court to the production and distribution of seditious materials, which included calls for a boycott of the “patriots only” legislative elections held last year.

Raymond Wong appeared before the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday, May 21, 2026, where he faced charges related to the dissemination of materials intended to incite unrest or hatred toward authorities.

According to a government statement, Wong was arrested by national security police on April 21, 2026. The authorities did not make the arrest public at the time it occurred.

Wong pleaded guilty to two counts of doing with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention. These charges were brought under Hong Kong’s domestic national security legislation, commonly referred to as Article 23.

Details of the Seditious Acts

Court documents reveal that Wong allegedly produced paper sheets containing various statements and threw them from a 12th-floor flat in On Tat Estate, a public housing complex located in the Kwun Tong district. The materials were scattered into a public space below.

The first count relates to an incident on October 2, 2024. On that date, a Kwun Tong district councillor discovered 41 sheets of paper scattered across the podium of the estate. Some of these documents contained the phrase blow up corrupt police officers. The councillor alerted the police and handed over the recovered materials for evidence.

The second count occurred on December 5, 2025, just two days before the “patriots only” Legislative Council elections. A staff member from the estate’s property management company found 16 sheets of paper on the podium. These documents contained the slogan liberate Hong Kong, do not vote.

Police subsequently seized the papers, and forensic analysis confirmed that Wong’s fingerprints were present on two of the sheets recovered from the December 5 incident.

Legal Framework and Penalties

The prosecution of Wong’s case follows the implementation of Article 23, which was passed by lawmakers in March 2024. This legislation significantly increased the penalties for sedition in Hong Kong.

Under the previous colonial-era ordinance, sedition was punishable by a maximum of two years in prison. Under the new Article 23 framework, the maximum penalty for sedition has been raised to seven years of imprisonment.

The law provides for even harsher penalties if the offense involves collusion with an external force, in which case the maximum sentence increases to 10 years behind bars.

Despite the overall statutory maximums, the sentencing power of the magistrate’s court remains limited. Jail terms handed down at this level are generally capped at two years for a single offense, or three years if the defendant is convicted of more than one offense.

Case Status and Next Steps

The court has adjourned Wong’s case until June 9, 2026, for sentencing. The delay is intended to allow the court to receive and review several official evaluations regarding the defendant.

The documents requested by the court include a background report, a social welfare report, and a psychological report to assist in determining the appropriate sentence.