14 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists convicted of subversion

A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced 14 pro-democracy activists in the city’s biggest national security case under a 2020 law imposed by Beijing that has all but eliminated public dissent.

Among those found 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 can face life in prison.

They were among 47 democracy advocates who were prosecuted in 2021 for their involvement in unofficial primary elections. Prosecutors accused them of trying to paralyze Hong Kong’s government and oust the city’s leader by securing the legislative majority needed to indiscriminately veto budgets.

Observers said his subversion case illustrates how the security law is being used to crush political opposition following huge anti-government protests in 2019. But the governments in Beijing and Hong Kong insist the law helped return stability to the city and that judicial independence is being protected.

When Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised to maintain the city’s Western-style civil liberties for 50 years. However, since the introduction of the 2020 law, Hong Kong authorities have severely limited freedom of expression and assembly under the rubric of maintaining national security. Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile. Dozens of civil society groups dissolved.

In December, Jimmy Lai, media mogul, outspoken critic of Beijing and defender of freedom of expression, went on trial in Hong Kong on charges of collusion with foreign forces under the 2020 law. Supporters said his real offense, however, was criticizing China’s Communist Party and its repression about freedom in Hong Kong. His trial is still ongoing.

In August 2020, Hong Kong police broke into the offices of Apple Daily, a popular Chinese-language tabloid owned by Lai, and took him into custody. He has been in prison ever since.

The primary case indictment involves pro-democracy activists from across the spectrum. They include jurist 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 charges of conspiracy to commit subversion. They are more likely to receive shorter prison sentences and will be sentenced later.

Sixteen others, including Leung, pleaded not guilty and underwent a non-jury trial. After the verdicts, mitigation hearings will be scheduled to determine the sentences of those convicted.

Dozens of residents lined up outside the police-guarded court building before 6am on Thursday to secure a seat in the public gallery for the verdicts. Some supporters who were among the first in line arrived on Wednesday night.

Social worker Stanley Chang, a friend of one of the 16 defendants, said he arrived at the scene at 4am because he feared he wouldn’t get a place. Chang said there are very few things supporters can do for them and that attending the hearing is a kind of companionship.

“I want to give some support to my friend and the faces I saw in the reports,” said he, who is in his 30s.

SL Chiu, who only gave his initials due to fear of government reprisals, said the hearing marked a historic moment. To show his support, he said he had collected other people’s messages for the 47 activists in a sketchbook and planned to mail them if possible.

“Hong Kongers are still here. We have not given up. We are still with you all,” he said.

On Wednesday night, Lee Yue-shun, one of the accused, said on Facebook that Thursday was like a special graduation ceremony for him, although graduation is usually about sharing happiness with family and friends,

“This perhaps better reflects the common helplessness of our generation,” he said.

The July 2020 primaries were intended to select pro-democracy candidates who would then run in official elections. It attracted an unexpectedly high turnout of 610,000 voters, representing more than 13% of the city’s registered electorate.

At that time, the pro-democracy camp hoped to be able to secure a legislative majority, which would allow them to press for the demands of the 2019 protests, including greater police accountability and democratic elections for the city leader.

But the government postponed the legislative elections that would follow the primaries, citing risks to public health during the coronavirus pandemic. Electoral laws were later revised, drastically reducing the public’s ability to vote and increasing the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city in the legislature.

Beijing 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.