A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city’s biggest national security case under a 2020 law imposed by Beijing that has all but wiped out public dissent.
Among the guilty were former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan. But the three judges approved by the government to oversee the case acquitted former district councilors Lee Yue-shun and Lawrence Lau. Those convicted could face life imprisonment.
They were among 47 democracy advocates prosecuted in 2021 for their involvement in unofficial primaries. Prosecutors had accused them of trying to paralyze Hong Kong’s government and overthrow the city’s leader by gaining the legislative majority needed to indiscriminately veto budgets.
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Observers said their subversion case illustrates how the security law is being used to crush political opposition after massive anti-government protests in 2019. But the Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the law has helped restore stability to the city and that judicial independence is protected.
When Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing pledged to preserve the city’s Western civil liberties for 50 years. However, since the introduction of the 2020 law, Hong Kong authorities have severely restricted freedom of expression and assembly in the name of maintaining national security. Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile. Dozens of social groups have been dissolved.
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In December, Jimmy Lai, a media mogul, outspoken Beijing critic and advocate for freedom of expression, said: stood trial in Hong Kong on charges of colluding with foreign forces under that 2020 law. However, supporters said his real offense was criticizing China’s ruling Communist Party its repression about freedom in Hong Kong. His trial is still ongoing.
In August 2020, Hong Kong Police raided the offices of Apple Daily, a popular Chinese-language tabloid from Lai, and took him into custody. He has been in prison ever since.
Pro-democracy activists from across the spectrum are involved in the prosecution of the main case. They include legal scholar Benny Tai, former student leader Joshua Wong and a dozen former lawmakers, including Leung Kwok-hung and Claudia Mo.
Thirty-one of them, including Tai, Wong and Mo, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit subversion. They are more likely to receive shorter prison sentences and be sentenced at a later date.
Sixteen others, including Leung, pleaded not guilty and underwent a trial without a jury. After the verdicts, mitigation hearings will be scheduled to determine the sentences of those convicted.
Dozens of residents lined up outside the police-guarded courthouse before 6 a.m. on Thursday to get a seat in the public gallery for the verdicts. Some supporters who were first in line already came by on Wednesday evening.
Social worker Stanley Chang, a friend of one of the 16 defendants, said he arrived at the scene at 4 a.m. because he feared he would not be able to get a seat. Chang said there are very few things supporters can do for them and attending the hearing is like companionship.
“I want to give some support to my friend and the faces I saw in the news,” he, who is in his 30s, said.
SL Chiu, who gave only his initials for fear of government retaliation, said the hearing marked a historic moment. To show his support, he said he had collected messages for the 47 activists from others in a sketchbook and planned to send them by mail if possible.
“Hong Kongers are still here. We haven’t given up. We are still with you all,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, Lee Yue-shun, one of the suspects, said on Facebook that Thursday was a special graduation ceremony for him, although graduation is usually about sharing happiness with family and friends.
“This perhaps best reflects the general helplessness of our generation,” he said.
The July 2020 primaries were intended to shortlist pro-democracy candidates who would then compete in the official elections. It attracted an unexpectedly high turnout of 610,000 voters, representing more than 13% of the city’s registered electorate.
The pro-democracy camp at the time hoped they could win a legislative majority, allowing them to push for the 2019 protest demands, including greater police accountability and democratic elections for the city leader.
But the government postponed the parliamentary elections that would have followed the primaries, citing public health risks during the coronavirus pandemic. The electoral laws were later revised, drastically reducing the public’s voting power and increasing the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers in the legislature making decisions for the city.
Beijing had also criticized the vote as a challenge to the security law, which criminalizes secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces to intervene in the city’s affairs, as well as terrorism.
