Oh, Spray Can You See: Mainland man gets 4 weeks in jail for graffiti at US consulate

Screengrab via Google Maps.
Screengrab via Google Maps.

A mainland man has been sentenced to four weeks in jail for vandalizing the US Consulate General in Hong Kong in protest of what Beijing has termed its “interference” in the pro-democracy protest movement that has rocked the city for nearly three months.

Qin Jingjun, 37, bought a can of spray paint on the mainland and entered Hong Kong on Sunday, August 18. At around 10pm the same day, he went to the US consulate in Central and attempted to scrawl the words “China will prevail” on the facade.

However, he was stopped by a security guard before he could write the word “prevail.” Police officers arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and took him into custody.

Ming Pao reports that Qin pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage during his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard that Qin told a police officer he believed the US was behind the anti-government protests — an unsubstantiated claim that Beijing officials and state media have worked hard to disseminate — saying, “I am unhappy with the Americans so I used the paint to spray the US Consulate.”

He told the court that he was not acting on anyone else’s orders, and had decided to vandalize the building on a momentary impulse.

But Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai wasn’t buying the “momentary impulse” line, noting that Qin had bought the can of spray paint before even traveling to Hong Kong.

In a mitigating statement, Qin’s attorney said that the defendant has been unemployed for many years, had no criminal record, and also takes medication for stomach problems. Qin also expressed remorse for the act, though his attorney added that he would not compensate the consulate for the damage.

In the end, Chainrai sentenced Qin to four weeks in jail.

Qin’s case comes amid a surge in Chinese nationalist counter-rallies around the world against the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. It also comes as Beijing steps up efforts to shift public opinion against the protesters and promote its claims of foreign involvement, including through a massive social media disinformation campaign revealed yesterday.

Local pro-Beijing figures have also seized on the mainland’s insistence that the recent anti-government protests — which were sparked by a controversial extradition bill, but have since expanded to include broader democratic reforms — are the result of so-called foreign spies trying to cause trouble in Hong Kong.

Earlier this month, pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho held a press conference urging the authorities to investigate a number of foreigners seen at protest sites and alleging that they’re foreign spies directing Hong Kong protesters. Previously he had posted photos of foreigners at protests, saying they were “American agents” who wanted to turn Hong Kong into “the next Syria.”



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