HONG KONG (AP) — Fourteen pro-democracy activists were convicted Thursday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case. Unofficial Primary Election It would weaken the government’s authority and create a constitutional crisis.
Since protests in 2019 that brought demonstrators to the streets of Hong Kong, authorities have effectively silenced dissent in the city by reducing people’s electoral choices, cracking down on the media and convicting activists under Beijing’s national security law.
Those convicted of conspiring to subvert the government include former councillors Leung Kwok Hung, Lam Cheuk Ting, Wong Lok Wai and Chan Jun, who could face life in prison if convicted. The two defendants who were acquitted were former district councillors Lee Yuk Shun and Lau Lok Wai, but prosecutors have indicated they intend to appeal the acquittals.
The activists were among 47 prosecutions over their involvement in the primary elections in 2021. Prosecutors had accused them of trying to paralyze the Hong Kong government and topple the city’s leader by securing the legislative majority needed to outright veto the budget.
In a summary of the ruling circulated to media, the court said the electors had “actively used or will use the power to veto the budget given to the (Legislature) by the Basic Law.”
According to the Basic Law, if the budget cannot be passed, the chief executive can dissolve parliament, but if the newly constituted parliament again rejects the budget, the chief executive must resign.
In its full 319-page judgment, the court also said that if plans to veto the bill lead to the dissolution of Parliament, “the implementation of the government’s new policies will be seriously hindered and effectively halted.”
“The power and authority of the government and the chief executive would be seriously undermined,” the court said in its ruling. “In our view, it would create a constitutional crisis in Hong Kong.”
The judge concluded that “unlawful means” are not limited to criminal acts and that the prosecution does not need to prove that the defendant knew the means used were “unlawful.”
Lau, who was acquitted, told reporters that he should not be the center of attention at this time because the other defendants in the case deserved the public’s attention and love.
He said if there is a “star” in the case, the verdict should be the “star” because it reveals the judge’s reasoning and perspective. “It’s part of our rule of law,” he said.
The court acquitted Lau, saying he had not mentioned the budget veto during his election campaign and it could not conclude he had an intention to subvert state power.
The other defendant, Lee, who was acquitted, thanked the public for taking an interest in the case over the past few years.
“I feel calm, as always,” he said.In a previous Facebook post, he said that while graduation ceremonies are usually a time to share happiness with family and friends, Thursday’s seemed special for him.
“This perhaps best reflects the shared powerlessness of our generation,” he said in a post on Wednesday.
Former pro-democracy district councillor Lee Yik Shun leaves the West Kowloon Magistrates Court in Hong Kong, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Photo by Chan Lung Hei/AP)
Like Lau, Lee was acquitted because the court found no evidence that Lee had mentioned using the veto at the election forum or that he had personally expressed a position that he would use the veto to force the government to comply with protesters’ demands.
Although Lee, who was then a member of the now-disbanded Civic Party, adopted a similar political platform to other party members, the court considered that he joined the party’s primary campaign late and therefore had little choice but to adopt the policies adopted by other party members. Therefore, the court said in its ruling that it was not certain whether he intended to subvert state power.
The court said the two would be released on bail.
Observers said the subversion case showed how the security law was being used. Crush political opposition The law was enacted following mass anti-government protests in 2019, but Beijing and the Hong Kong governments said it helped restore stability to Hong Kong and safeguarded judicial independence.
When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, Beijing promised to uphold Hong Kong’s Western-style civil liberties for 50 years. However, since the introduction of the law in 2020, Hong Kong authorities have severely restricted freedom of speech and assembly in the name of maintaining national security. Many activists have been arrested, silenced or forced into self-imposed exile. Dozens of civil society organizations have been dissolved.
Activists charged in the main lawsuit include legal scholar Dai Hongqi, former student leader Joshua Wong and 12 former lawmakers, including Leung and Mo Yu.
Thirty-one people, including Tai, Wong, and Mo, Sabotage conspiracyHis sentence is likely to be shorter and his sentence will be handed down at a later date.
Members of the United Front for Social Democracy hold a banner outside Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court ahead of a verdict in a national security case, Thursday, May 30, 2024. The banner reads, “Exercising your constitutional rights is not a crime.” (Associated Press/Chan Lung Hei)
Following Thursday’s verdicts for 16 others who pleaded not guilty and were tried without a jury, the court tentatively scheduled a commutation hearing for June 25.
Ahead of the trial, Chan Po-yin, a leader of pro-democracy party Union for Social Democracy, and three other LSD members were arraigned in court on Thursday, according to a Facebook post by party member Figo Chan. Chan Po-yin is also Leong’s wife.
According to local media reports, including the South China Morning Post, those arrested tried to walk onto the court grounds and hold up yellow protest banners, but were stopped and taken away by police.
Diplomats from the United States, Australia and Britain, as well as dozens of residents, waited outside the police-guarded courtroom to secure a seat to hear the verdict.
Among those who came to show their support was former Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau, who told reporters it was unfortunate that so many people had been jailed for more than three years but declined to comment on the sentence.
Stanley Chan, a social worker who is a friend of one of the 16 defendants, said he arrived at the venue at 4 a.m. because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to get a seat. Chan said there was little supporters could do for them and that attending the hearing was a kind of socializing.
“I just want to be able to offer some support to my friends and people I’ve seen on the news,” he said.
People line up outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court in Hong Kong ahead of a sentencing in a national security case, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Associated Press/Chan Lung Hei)
Maya Wang, deputy China director at Human Rights Watch, said the 14 men’s “conviction for peaceful activism shows complete contempt for both the democratic political process and the rule of law.”
“All the Hong Kong people wanted was the opportunity to freely choose their own government. No matter what the Chinese government and its elected Hong Kong courts say, democracy is not a crime,” Wang added.
Sarah Brooks of Amnesty International called the mass convictions “unprecedented” and said it was “the most brutal example yet of how the national security law is being weaponized to silence dissent.”
“This guilty verdict sends a chilling message to all those who oppose their government’s actions in Hong Kong: remain silent or face jail,” she said.
An unofficial primary election held in June 2020 was intended to narrow the field of Democratic candidates to run in the official election, but an unexpectedly large number of people, 610,000 people, voted in the primary, more than 13% of the city’s eligible voters.
At the time, democrats hoped that securing a majority in the legislature would enable them to push through demands from the 2019 protests, including greater police accountability and democratically elected mayors.
But the government postponed parliamentary elections, which were scheduled to follow the primaries, citing public health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. The electoral law was later amended to In effect, the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers in the legislature has increased.
