In a significant development, Hong Kong court has convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city’s largest national security case under a law imposed by Beijing. The law has effectively suppressed public dissent in the city.
Among those found guilty were former lawmakers Leung Kwok Hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan. However, the two former district councillors were acquitted by the three government approved judges over seeing the case.
The defendants were part of the group of 47 democracy advocates prosecuted in 2021 for participating in an unofficial primary election. Prosecutors alleged that they aimed to paralyse Hong Kong government and remove the city leader by securing a legislative majority that would allow them to indiscriminately veto budgets.
The subversion case against the 16 defendants who pleaded not guilty and underwent a non-jury trial, is expected to showcase how the security law is being used to crush political opposition in the wake of the massive anti-government protests in 2019. The Beijing and Hong Kong governments maintain that the law has restored stability to the city while preserving judicial independence.
When Hong Kong was returned to China by Britain in 1997, Beijing pledged to maintain the city’s civil liberties for 50 years. However, since the 2020 Law, Hong Kong Authorities have drastically curtailed freedom of speech and assembly under the pretext of maintaining national security. Many activists were arrested, silenced, and forced into self-exile and numerous civil society groups have been disbanded.
The prosecution of the primary case involves a wide range of pro-democracy activists, including scholar Benny Tai, former student leader Joshua Wong and a dozen former lawmakers such as 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 and are expected to receive shorter jail terms at a later sentencing date.
Supporters of the defendants gathered outside the police guarded court as early as May 29, 2024, evening to secure seats in the public gallery for the two-day hearing starting on May 30, 2024. Social workers Stanley Chang, a friend of one of the 16 defendants arrived at 4:00 AM to show support and provide sense of companionship.
SL Chiu, another supporter collected messages for the 47 activists in a sketchbook to mail to them expressing the sentiment that Hong Kongers are still here, we haven’t given up, we are still with you all.” The July 2020 primary aimed to shortlist pro-democracy candidates for the official election drawing a maximum turnout of 610,000 voters, representing over 13 percent of the city’s electorate.
The pro-democracy camp hoped to secure a legislative majority to press for the demands of the 2019 protests including the greater police accountability and democratic elections for the city leader. However, the government postponed the legislative election, citing public health risks during coronavirus pandemic and later overhauled the electoral laws significantly reducing public ability to vote and increasing the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers in the legislature.
