Hong Kong activist Tony Chung plans to plead not guilty to four criminal charges, including an alleged violation of the national security law, as the 19-year-old was again refused bail on Thursday.

Chung has already been convicted and sentenced to four months in prison in December 2020 for desecrating the Chinese flag, and unlawful assembly. It was one of the earliest cases related to the anti-extradition law to be heard in court, with a sentence handed down.

In addition to being accused of violating a new national security law enacted in July last year, Chung has been charged with money laundering and conspiring to publish seditious content. He plans to deny all charges, according Chung’s lawyer.

The case will return to court on June 1, with Chung remaining behind bars as bail was denied on Thursday.

The former convenor of pro-independence student group Studentlocalism, Chung was one of the first people to be arrested and prosecuted for “inciting secession” under the new national security law that came into effect last June.

Chung was accused of organizing, planning, implementing and participating in activities which undermined a country’s unity and considered as secession, between July 1 and October 27 last year. He was also accused of conspiring to distribute materials which incited hatred against the Hong Kong government and deprecated the government’s image, as well as to arouse thoughts of rebellion among the public which destabilized society, according to the charges. The national security law criminalizes subversion, secession and collusion with foreign forces. It has drawn widespread criticism from the international community that it violates the freedoms Hong Kong was guaranteed for 50 years, after sovereignty was handed from Britain to China in 1997.

The teenager was arrested again outside the United States consulate by plainclothes police officers in October. He was believed to have been planning to enter the consulate to claim asylum.

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