A Hong Kong court on Tuesday sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to 10 years in prison for the first time since China enacted China’s controversial national security law.
The activists were among 47 people arrested in 2021 on charges of organizing unofficial primaries to elect pro-democracy legislative candidates. Authorities claimed the move violated Beijing’s security law, which was first introduced in 2020.
In what has been called Hong Kong’s largest national security case, prosecutors accused the defendants of plotting to “overthrow” the government by forcing the city’s leader to resign. Both men were previously acquitted after a lengthy trial.
Foreign governments and human rights groups immediately condemned the ruling by Hong Kong and Chinese authorities amid concerns about democratic backsliding and human rights abuses in the city of seven million.
Here’s what we know about the sentencing and the events that led to it.
How was the trial of the Hong Kong 47 incident conducted?
After mass protests erupted in 2019 against a new law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, democracy advocates and politicians sought to help shortlist candidates to run in legislative elections on July 7, 2020. Organized a primary election in March.
The 2019 law was scrapped after millions of people gathered in the streets for months, paralyzing financial hubs. This was the largest protest since then. that 2014 Umbrella Movementtriggered by China’s proposal To pre-approve candidates Hong Kong general election.
Through unofficial elections in 2020, the pro-democracy camp sought to secure a majority in the 70-seat legislature, all of the protesters’ core demands: greater police accountability and democratic elections to elect the city’s leaders.
Currently, China’s directly elected election committee selects a majority of all executives, including Hong Kong’s lawmakers and chief executive. Hong Kongers can only vote directly for about 20% of the legislature.
Ahead of the 2020 unofficial election, government officials warned that the vote could violate China’s 2020 national security law, enacted in response to protests in 2019. The law has been criticized by rights groups for broadly criminalizing “subversion” (or undermining authority) as well as secession, “terrorism,” and collusion (with foreign powers).
However, voting took place on July 11 and 12, 2020. More than 600,000 of the city’s seven million residents voted in the election. That’s more than 13% of registered voters.
China immediately criticized the election and called it a challenge to the national security law. Hong Kong has enjoyed a variety of legal and human rights protections since its sovereignty was returned to China in 1997 under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.
On January 6, 2021, 55 candidates and participants who participated in the vote were arrested.
Ultimately, 47 people were charged with conspiracy to overthrow or undermine the appointed government.
Official legislative elections were later postponed to December 2021, with authorities citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who were arrested and what did they claim?
Among those arrested, Benny Tai (60), a legal scholar who stood out in the 2019 protests, was identified by prosecutors as the mastermind of a plot to overthrow the government.
Former student representatives Joshua Wong (27), Lester Shum (31), and former lawmakers Claudia Mo (67) and Alvin Young (48) were also arrested.
The trial began with a marathon pre-trial hearing at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court from 1 to 4 March 2021. The trial continued in June 2022. Many of the defendants were denied bail and remained in jail until Tuesday.
Three judges directly selected by the government heard the arguments.
Prosecutors claimed that these groups aim to secure a majority in the National Assembly and aim to paralyze the government by indiscriminately blocking the passage of the government budget.
However, the defendants’ lawyers countered that this election was simply an exercise in democracy and that the coup ‘plan’ could not be realized.
Tai and 30 others pleaded guilty at an earlier trial and sought lighter sentences.
Last May, the court found 14 of the remaining activists guilty of subversion, while former district councilor Lawrence Lau and former local councilor Lee Yueshun were acquitted.
What did the court rule on Tuesday?
Benny Tai received the heaviest sentence of 10 years. Prosecutors previously accused the scholar of being the “organizer” of the conspiracy.
In the decision posted online, the court called Tai a “mastermind” and said he had “advocated for the revolution” through a series of previously published articles that tracked his thinking.
The judges referenced a statement Tai made in March 2020, according to the Associated Press. He said securing a majority in the legislature, which is usually dominated by pro-Beijing factions, could be a “constitutional weapon with great destructive power.” . The judges also criticized Tai for writing an article suggesting that repeatedly blocking government budgets could disrupt government functions.
In an earlier letter requesting shorter sentences, Tai pleaded that the ideas outlined in the article were “never intended to be used as a blueprint for any political action.”
Young activist Owen Chau, 27, received the second longest sentence (7 years and 9 months) for running as an election candidate.
Former journalist Guinness Ho, 34, who live-streamed the 2019 protests, was also sentenced to seven years in prison for running in elections.
Meanwhile, Joshua Wong, 28, a former student council member and internationally known activist, and Claudia Mo, 67, a member of parliament, were sentenced to four years and eight months and four years and two months, respectively. Both men previously pleaded guilty.
Full synopsis of all 45 sentences from 47 trials. #Hong Kong Democratic leaders were indicted on charges of ‘conspiracy to overthrow state power’ under the National Security Act. pic.twitter.com/nnC7cUhCBa
— Hong Kong Democratic Committee (@hkdc_us) November 19, 2024
The judges said the camp’s plan to bring about change would weaken the government and create a constitutional crisis. The sentence was reduced for a defendant who said he did not know the scheme was illegal, according to the judge.
However, Mr. Tai and former lawmaker Alvin Young (43), who were sentenced to 5 years and 1 month in prison, were excluded from the sentence reduction list. The court stated that this was because they were lawyers who knew the law well but were “absolutely adamant in pursuing enforcement of the law.”
What is the impact of this ruling?
Analysts said the ruling was a litmus test for democracy in Hong Kong and showed how far authorities have suppressed dissent following anti-government protests in 2019 and the enactment of a security law in 2020.
The international financial hub was once seen as autonomous and free from Chinese control. But the drastic changes imposed by the national security law reflect a growing threat to China’s commitment to maintaining civil liberties in the former British colony, experts say.
Many Hong Kongers feel the same way. Hundreds protested outside the courthouse as the trial continued.
On Tuesday, family members of the defendants packed the courtroom and waved vigorously while others shed tears as the court’s verdict was read. Outside the court, dozens of pro-democracy supporters and diplomatic representatives from several consulates in Hong Kong stood in solidarity.
Kevin Yam, a former Hong Kong lawyer living in Australia who is wanted by city authorities for alleged national security violations, told Al Jazeera that he knew many of the defendants.
Yam said, “I’ve known (Ty) for over 20 years, and the thought of him entering for 10 years is heavy.” “I mean, what did he do? He organized an informal vote on something. “Basically, all 45 people who were found guilty are being punished for trying to work within the constitutional process.”
Chan Po-ying, wife of politician Leung “Long Hair” Kwokhung, 68, who was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison, said advocates had tried to use some of the rights granted by the city’s mini-constitution to apply pressure. I told them. People with the power to represent the will of the people.
“This is unjust imprisonment. They should not be in jail even for a day,” said Chan, who chairs the Social Democratic Alliance, one of the city’s remaining pro-democracy parties.
How are foreign governments reacting to this ruling?
Human rights groups and foreign governments immediately criticized this ruling.
The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong condemned the ruling in a statement and said the defendants were aggressively prosecuted for engaging in normal political activities.
“We call on (Beijing) and Hong Kong authorities to stop politically motivated prosecutions of Hong Kong citizens and immediately release all political prisoners and individuals imprisoned for peacefully advocating for their rights and freedoms,” the statement said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also said the government was “gravely concerned” about the sentencing of Gordon Ng, a dual Australian-Hong Kong citizen who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Wong added that Australia expressed “strong opposition to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities” over the continued broad application of the national security law.
Meanwhile, Karen Kuo, spokeswoman for Taiwan’s Presidential Office, said the Chinese government had used “unfair procedures” to suppress participation and freedom of expression. “This ruling further proves that ‘one country, two systems’ is unfeasible,” Guo said, adding that Hong Kong’s autonomy had been destroyed.
The European Union (EU) assessed this ruling as “an unprecedented blow to fundamental freedoms, democratic participation, and pluralism in Hong Kong.”
Maya Wang, China director at Human Rights Watch, said the harsh sentences reflect how quickly Hong Kong’s civil liberties and judicial independence have plummeted in the past four years since the national security law was introduced.
“Running for election and trying to win is now a crime punishable by 10 years in prison in Hong Kong,” Wang said.
