A Hong Kong court has sentenced 45 democratic figures to prison in the largest national security law trial.
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and AP and Reuters, the Hong Kong High Court sentenced 45 people, including former opposition lawmakers and pro-democracy activists, to four to 10 years in prison today (19th).
They were indicted in 2021 for violating Hong Kong’s national security law by holding informal primaries to field democratic candidates ahead of the 2020 Hong Kong legislative council elections.
Among them, Benny Tai, a former professor at Hong Kong University, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
This is the longest sentence since Hong Kong’s national security law was enacted in 2020.
The court ruled that Professor Tai was “the main culprit of the plot to overthrow the Constitution to cause a constitutional crisis.”
Hong Kong’s National Security Law, enacted in June 2020 by Beijing in the wake of large anti-government protests in the city in 2019, provides a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for four crimes: national division, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign forces.
Joshua Wong, a leading democratic activist, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.
The court said Joshua Wong had been actively involved in the primary scheme and had previously been convicted, saying he was “not guilty” and only partially reduced his sentence by pleading guilty.
Activist Gordon Ng, a dual Australian and Hong Kong citizen, was also deemed an “active participant” and sentenced to seven years and two months in prison.
The trial was the largest since the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Law.
Foreign media said the outcome of the sentence reflects the political and legal environment in Hong Kong, which has changed since the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Law.
CNN said Chinese authorities have raised the level of oppression of anti-government forces after massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, a freewheeling city, in 2019, adding, “This ruling shows how much the city, which used to speak without hesitation and demonstrate, has progressed to turn into a mirror-like place in authoritarian mainland China.”
The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong also issued a statement, criticizing the defendants for “aggressively prosecuting and imprisoning them for their peaceful participation in normal political activities protected under Hong Kong’s basic laws.”
In response, the Chinese government protested that it was an interference in domestic affairs.
“Hong Kong is a law-abiding society, and no one can attempt to engage in illegal activities under the flag of democracy and escape legal sanctions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
Western countries are also defending their national security in accordance with judicial procedures, Lin said, “I freely condemn Hong Kong courts’ fair enforcement of Hong Kong’s national security law,” and criticized the act as a serious insult and violation of the spirit of the rule of law.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL