The first person accused of violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, Hong Kong Youth appeared in court and refused to plead guilty.

Hong Kong’s 23-year-old Henry Tang Ying-kit, the first defendant charged with breaching Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, refused to plead guilty when he appeared in court today (16). The case will be transferred to the High Court for trial.

The Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, which was passed by China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), came into effect at 11:00 a.m. on the evening of June 30 this year, the Hong Kong SAR government announced.

According to media reports, 23-year-old Tang Ying-kit was charged with “ramming” a motorcycle with a “Glorious Hong Kong Era Revolution” banner on July 1, injuring three police officers and violating the national security laws of “inciting others to secede” and “terrorism,” which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He was escorted to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court in a prison van today, where he refused to plead guilty. The case was transferred to the High Court for trial, where the defendant was remanded in custody, Chief Magistrate So Wai Tak said. The first time I saw him was when he was in the hospital.

Tang is the only person charged with violent acts, although one person has also been charged with possession of knives and a paintball gun, media reported. Most of the other cases involved slogans, cloths or Internet content considered to be secessionist.