- Author, Kelly Ng and Lok Lee
- Role, in Singapore and Hong Kong
Hong Kong has found 14 pro-democracy activists guilty of subversion in the largest-ever use of a national security law imposed by China.
They included former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung and Helena Wong, journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho, and ordinary Hongkongers who joined the 2019 mass protests, such as nurse Winnie Yu.
They would have “(created) a constitutional crisis for Hong Kong” if they had actually been elected to the Legislative Assembly, the court ruled on Thursday.
The convictions showed “the scale and seriousness of the criminal scheme”, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said, adding that his government would do “all possible to prevent, suppress and impose sanctions” for any activity “endangering national security”.
On Thursday, in front of the courthouse, Vanessa Chan, the wife of Leung Kwok-hung, was arrested with three other activists for trying to organize a demonstration, according to police sources for “disorderly conduct”.
Image source, Anthony WALLACE / AFP
On Thursday, three High Court judges, Andrew Chan, Alex Lee and Johnny Chan, agreed with prosecutors’ argument that if the pro-democracy candidates had been elected, they would have tried to “veto or deny l “adoption of any budget” presented by the Hong Kong government. government.
This and other actions, the court said, would have led to “serious interference, disruption or impairment of the exercise of duties and functions in accordance with law by the (Hong Kong) government.”
As evidence, the court cited letters and campaign materials found in the defendants’ homes and on their devices when they were arrested more than three years ago.
The court acquitted two of the defendants – former district councilors Lawrence Lau and Lee Yue-Shun – saying it “cannot be sure” whether they were “parties to the project” or “intended to overthrow the power of the state. But the Justice Department said it would appeal the acquittals.
The 47 are among the most prominent names in the pro-democracy movement, since 2014, when thousands of people demonstrated for free and fair elections.
“They encapsulate the diverse and universal aspiration for democracy and freedom among Hong Kong citizens,” Simon Cheng, accused of violating the NSL, told the BBC. He fled Hong Kong and has since been granted asylum in the UK.
The case has attracted widespread attention because it poses a new test for Hong Kong’s civil liberties under Beijing’s rule. Alongside the trial of billionaire Jimmy Lai, it has highlighted growing criticism that the National Security Law (NSL) has been used to crush dissent. But China said the law had restored stability to the city following 2019 protests and was essential to maintaining law and order.
Ms Chan is the chairwoman of the League of Social Democrats, one of the few remaining pro-democracy political groups in Hong Kong.
Human rights groups and several Western countries condemned the verdict, reiterating concerns that the prosecution was “politically motivated.”
The UK said the case showed how authorities had used the National Security Law (NSL) to “stifle opposition and criminalize political dissent”.
This “tarnishes Hong Kong’s international reputation” and “sends a message that Hong Kong people can no longer participate safely and meaningfully in peaceful political debate,” said British Minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne Marie Trevelyan. .
The EU said this “marks a further deterioration of fundamental freedoms and democratic participation” and Australia expressed “strong objections” to the “broad application” of the NSL. One of the convicted activists, Gordon Ng, is an Australian citizen.
In response to the verdict, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said: “Hong Kong is a society based on the rule of law… No one can carry out illegal activities under the banner of democracy and try to escape the legal sanctions. »
“We resolutely oppose some countries intervening in China’s internal affairs and smearing or undermining Hong Kong’s legal system through individual court cases,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Hong Kong officials hail the NSL’s nearly 100% conviction rate, but legal experts say it shows the extent to which it is used to silence dissent: Nearly 300 people have been arrested in connection with this law for a wide range of acts.
Sentencing is expected at a later date, including for the other 31 people who have pleaded guilty. Subversion carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and it is unclear whether a guilty plea warrants a reduced sentence under the NSL.
Most of the guilty pleas were “probably taken as a pragmatic decision, (as activists) recognize that their chances of getting a fair trial are slim,” Mr. Cheng said.
“It is a tragic reflection of how activists are forced into concessions simply to lessen the severity of their punishment under an increasingly authoritarian regime,” he said.
“What crime did he commit?”
“We both like independence, openness and freedom. What kind of crime did he commit? said Vanessa Chan, wife of Leung Kwok-hung.
Speaking to China’s BBC before the verdict and subsequent arrest, she said: “I feel sad for him… I know he feels unhappy, just like me.” »
Mr. Leung, better known as Long Hair because of his signature hairstyle, was for decades Hong Kong’s most tenacious dissident. He has been jailed several times for protesting against the government, but this time is different, said Ms Chan, who only visits him in prison for 15 minutes each day.
“(In the 2010s), the social environment was completely different… The pro-democracy movement was moving forward. Being imprisoned was just a small setback… People felt that there was much to do after being released from prison.
Image source, Getty Images
Now, she added, even when he gets out of prison, he “will only be released from a small prison to a big prison.”
The couple, both in their 60s, married just months before his arrest in early 2021. He has been in prison ever since.
Social worker Hendrick Lui’s desire to “contribute to society” landed him in prison, said Elsa Wu, his adoptive mother.
Mr. Lui is among 31 people who have pleaded guilty — and he was among those who participated in the unofficial primary that is at the heart of the case.
“He saw a lot of social problems, so he thought, ‘Why don’t I run for office,'” she said, adding that she had hoped he would have an easier life after a difficult childhood.
“It would have been better if he continued working as a social worker. »
“A trial for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement”
The unofficial primary that the case focuses on took place in July 2020, despite warnings from officials that it could violate the NSL. But more than 600,000 Hong Kongers voted to choose opposition candidates likely to run in the upcoming elections for the Legislative Council or LegCo, Hong Kong’s mini-parliament.
But the elections were postponed and when they finally took place in December 2021 after controversial reforms, pro-Beijing candidates swept to power. Only 30% of the city’s residents voted. The new laws allowed Beijing to determine who could run for office, and many of the most prominent opposition lawmakers were already facing charges under the NSL.
Authorities have defended the prosecution of the 47 activists, saying they had a “vicious plot” to undermine the government.
But the trial was controversial. The NSL allows the decision to be made by three judges hand-picked by the Hong Kong government, rather than a jury, which has been seen as a break with the city’s common law traditions.
Most of the defendants have been in prison since their arrest in January 2021, although the trial did not begin until early 2023. They were denied bail and pretrial detentions quickly became the norm in NSL cases.
The first-ever bail hearing dragged on for four days, with the defendants not given a chance to change or even take a shower. Ten of them later fainted and several were sent to hospital.
It was “a trial for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement,” Eric Lai, a researcher at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, told the BBC.
“These verdicts effectively wipe out all political opposition in Hong Kong,” said Sunny Cheung, who also ran in the July 2020 primaries but fled the city.
Now in exile in the United States, he says he misses his fellow activists: “I dream of my peers who fought together for democracy. The survivor’s guilt is immense.”
Additional reporting by Frances Mao in Singapore
News Source : www.bbc.com
Gn world
