Hong Kong 47: Democracy leaders convicted on subversion charges as national security mass trial concludes

Hong Kong
CNN
—

More than a dozen Hong KongProminent democratic figures in China were found guilty Thursday of subversion, following the largest national security trial since Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on the once free-wheeling city.

The 14 activists and politicians were convicted of “conspiracy to commit subversive acts” for their role in the protest. Informal primaries in 2020 to determine who should compete in the city legislator elections.

They were among 47 defendants in what became known as “Hong Kong 47” trial – A closely watched landmark trial under A National Security Law Beijing imposed on the city following mass anti-government protests the previous year.

Those on trial represent a broad swath of Hong Kong’s now dismantled democracy movement, and most have pleaded guilty during the trial process.

But 16 activists and politicians decided to resist these charges, choosing a full trial that lasted more than a year. Two of them were acquitted on Thursday and released from court. The remaining 45 are now awaiting sentencing at a later date and could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Thursday’s ruling offers one of the clearest windows into how the national security law has rewritten the city’s political landscape, with previously permissible pro-democracy dissent now wiped out and dissent completely erased.

The Hong Kong and Beijing governments have repeatedly denied that the national security law suppresses freedoms, arguing that it ended chaos and “restored stability” to the city.

In an executive summary outlining the convictions, a panel of judges ruled that prosecutors had proven that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct “the duties and functions of government… with the aim of undermining the authority of the state.”

Supporters of those convicted contend they were simply engaging in the kind of oppositional politics that has been allowed to flourish in Hong Kong, and Thursday’s ruling suggests that China’s control over the once-voiced city is almost complete.

Since the national security law came into effect in 2020, civic groups have been disbanded, and independent media outlets have been shut down. The city’s Legislative Council is now composed solely of Beijing loyalists, while most pro-democracy figures are either in prison or in exile abroad.

The 47 defendants were at the forefront He was arrested in dawn raids on January 6, 2021 – 1,240 days ago – and most have been detained for more than three years.

They include experienced politicians, elected legislators and young protest leaders, as well as academics, trade unionists, journalists and medical workers. They come from multiple generations and a broad political spectrum — from moderate Democrats to those who advocate for Hong Kong’s self-determination.

Among those who pleaded not guilty and were convicted on Thursday were former journalist Gwyneth Ho, 33, who live-streamed an attack on pro-democracy protesters inside a subway station, and former MP Leung Kwok Hong, 68, known by the pseudonym. “Long-Haired”, a left-wing activist who began his long political career by campaigning against British colonial rule.

After the verdicts were handed down, some family members wept openly in the courtroom and waved to the defendants. Some of the defendants smiled and waved, others appeared resigned.

The two people who were acquitted are former district council members Lawrence Lau and Li Yu-chun, who participated in the unofficial primaries held by the Democrats in 2020.

“Today, I should not be the center of attention. I hope everyone will continue to care about the other friends in this case,” Lau, the lawyer, said after leaving the court. “Thank you very much for your concern for all the defendants in this case, please, from Please continue to care and give them love.”

Wearing a gold chain and a tiger-print T-shirt, Lee said he could not say much even after his acquittal.

“Given that the Department of Justice has indicated that it may appeal, I cannot make any comments or express any opinions on the ruling or this case at this stage.” He said. “So I can only tell you that I feel very calm and thank you for your concern. Now I want to go eat dimsum with my family because I haven’t been able to see them yet.

Human Rights Watch condemned the convictions, saying that the democracy leaders had been tried for “peaceful activism” and that the sentence showed “complete contempt for both democratic political processes and the rule of law.”

The Hong Kong 47 case arose out of the informal primaries held by the pro-democracy opposition in July 2020 to elect the city’s Legislative Council. The goal was to narrow down the candidates’ best chances of trying to win a majority, as is the case in similar polls conducted in other democracies around the world.

But Hong Kong authorities said the initial vote was a “sinister plot” aimed at “paralyzing the government and undermining state authority” and accused those who participated of intending to use their mandate to indiscriminately block legislation.

The Legislative Council elections – which the defendants had hoped to win by holding a primary vote – were postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus-related health concerns cited by authorities during the pandemic.

During the postponement, Beijing and Hong Kong authorities rewrote the city’s electoral rules and put in place a stricter screening system to weed out candidates deemed “unpatriotic.”

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council currently does not include any pro-democracy lawmakers, and the upcoming district council elections, scheduled for December, will not include any pro-democracy candidates.

Facing a trial without a jury, 31 defendants pleaded guilty, a step that in Hong Kong usually results in a reduced sentence. But that strategy is now in doubt after another domestic national security law was enacted earlier this year that restricted access to lenient sentences for pleading guilty.

Among those who pleaded guilty were Joshua Wong, 27, who gained international fame as the face of years of student-led democracy protests in Hong Kong and was described by Chinese state media as an “extremist,” and Benny Tai, 59, a former law professor and colleague. – Founder of the “Occupy Central” movement in 2014, and Claudia Moe (67 years old), a former journalist turned reform-oriented legislator.

Democracy activists in Hong Kong are no strangers to courtrooms. Many of them served time for their activism. But the Hong Kong 47 trial showed how the legal system has changed under the National Security Law, which criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Its wording and application are more consistent with laws in mainland China, where courts are tightly monitored by the ruling Communist Party, and conviction rates exceed 99.9%. In contrast, Hong Kong follows a common law system that remained intact after the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Nearly 300 people, between the ages of 15 and 90, have been detained under the national security law imposed by Beijing since its promulgation, according to police.

Like all national security cases to date, Hong Kong’s 47 trials were heard without a jury, a departure from common law tradition, the authority granted by law imposed by Beijing. It is also chaired by a panel of three Supreme Court judges appointed by the city’s chief executive to deal with national security issues.

The law also sets a maximum limit on bail. Thirty-two defendants were refused bail and have remained in custody since 2021 – a highly unusual practice for cases that do not involve murder. Only 15 of them were released on bail, but two of them were later revoked for breaching their bail conditions.

John Burns, professor emeritus at the University of Hong Kong, said the trial greatly highlighted the imposition of mainland legal concepts and mainland law into the common law system.

“It is quite clear that the national security law has reduced the independence and independence of the judiciary. There is no jury, it is very difficult to get bail – these are all things that were previously determined by judges.

Legal scholars and Western governments have lamented how the national security law dealt a blow to the city’s judicial independence, but authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong have warned foreign parties against interfering in the city’s internal affairs and judicial system.

Before the trial began in February, the Hong Kong government described criticism of the trial as a “scandal of the criminal justice process” and “a blatant act that undermines the rule of law in Hong Kong.”