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The Hong Kong government will consider whether to appeal for longer sentences of certain democrats jailed on Tuesday in the city’s largest national security case.
Convicted of conspiring to commit subversion, 45 former legislators, ex-district councillors, and activists received jail sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years, with prominent legal scholar Benny Tai receiving a decade behind bars.
Speaking to reporters after the sentencing, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the sentences reflected the “severity” of the democrats’ offences. They were convicted over their roles in a July 2020 election primary, through which the opposition camp hoped to identify candidates to help it win majority control of the legislature in an upcoming election.
Three national security judges ruled that the democrats had intended to abuse their powers to indiscriminately veto the government budget and force the chief executive to resign if they had indeed won a majority. This would have plunged the city into a “constitutional crisis,” they ruled.
“Regarding the sentences for certain individuals, we will thoroughly study the reasons for sentence before deciding whether to file an appeal to seek longer jail terms,” Tang said in Cantonese.
Among the 45 democrats, Joshua Wong, who became known around the world for his student activism, was given a one-third discount because he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.
Former Stand News journalist Gwyneth Ho, who pleaded not guilty and who did not submit a mitigation plea, was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Former legislator Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam, Claudia Mo, Gary Fan and former district councillor Andy Chui received the lowest sentences of four years and two months.
The security chief added that Hong Kong still had to be wary of national security risks, including “foreign forces” and domestic threats.
“There remains a small number of radicals who have still not rested,” Tang said. “Through inserting subtle influences, [they] use soft resistance methods to promote violence and incite hatred and discontent of the Hong Kong and [Chinese] governments.”
When asked about the fate of the eight democrats arrested alongside the 47 but not charged, Tang did not answer directly.
“For every case, if we have sufficient evidence, we will arrest and we will prosecute… unless the individual offence has a time bar,” Tang said.
‘Righteous judgement’
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said during a regular press conference on Tuesday that the central government firmly supported Hong Kong’s efforts to safeguard national security.
“Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law. It’s a basic principle to obey the law and to be punished over violations of the law,” Lin said in Mandarin. “No one can engage in illegal activities under the banner of democracy.”
Nixie Lam, a pro-Beijing lawmaker and a member of the city’s largest pro-establishment party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said on Tuesday in a Chinese statement that the court had reached a “righteous judgement.”
“This righteous judgement amplified the spirit of rule of law, and it delivered a serious message to the public: Anyone who attempts to subvert the government or undermine social stability will face severe legal penalties,” Lam said.
‘Democracy is no crime’
Meanwhile, the US government, the Australian government, Taiwan’s government and the European Union also commented on the sentencing of 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office issued a statement on Tuesday in which spokesperson Karen Kuo said “democracy is no crime” and called the sentencing of the 45 democrats “a serious violation of the Hong Kong people’s pursuit of freedom and democracy.”
The presidential office “strongly condemned the CCP government” over what it called suppression of political participation and freedom of expression.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a breakaway province to be unified with the mainland by force if necessary, has proposed a Hong Kong-style governance model for the democratic self-ruled island.
Kuo said Tuesday’s sentencing proved that the One Country, Two Systems model was “unviable.”
A spokesperson for the Consulate General of the United States, Hong Kong and Macau told HKFP on Tuesday that the US “strongly condemns” the sentences handed down to the 45 pro-democracy advocates and former lawmakers.
“The defendants were aggressively prosecuted and jailed for peacefully participating in normal political activity protected under Hong Kong’s Basic Law,” the spokesperson said, adding that the US called on Beijing and Hong Kong authorities ”to cease politically motivated prosecutions of Hong Kong citizens and to immediately release all political prisoners and individuals jailed for their peaceful advocacy for rights and freedoms.”
They continued: “We continue to stand with Hong Kongers as they respond to Beijing’s assault on promised freedoms and autonomy, and we will continue to call for the release of all those unjustly detained.”
Australian foreign minister Penny Wong in a statement on Tuesday said Canberra was “gravely concerned by the sentence handed down in Hong Kong for Australian citizen Mr Gordon Ng and other members of the NSL47.”
Ng was sentenced to seven years and three months in jail over his role in the primary election.
Wong added that Australia had expressed “strong objections to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation, including in application to Australian citizens.”
“We call for China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society, consistent with the Human Rights Committee and Special Procedure recommendations, including the repeal of the National Security Law in Hong Kong,” Wong said.
The EU on Tuesday said it remained “deeply concerned about the politically motivated prosecution of the defendants who are being punished, in many cases with harsh prison terms, for peaceful political activity that should be legitimate in any political system that respects basic democratic principles.”
‘The dire state of justice system’
Apart from foreign governments, a series of overseas NGOs expressed concerns over the landmark national security case.
Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that the sentences “reflect just how fast Hong Kong’s civil liberties and judicial independence have nosedived in the past four years since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law on the city.”
“Running in an election and trying to win it is now a crime that can lead to a decade in prison in Hong Kong,” Wang said.
In a statement published on Tuesday, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said: “No one convicted in this politically motivated case should be spending a day in jail; let alone be facing the kind of lengthy sentences meted out today.”
“These sentences, despite going through the motions of mitigation and respect for due process, are clearly intended to punish opponents of the Hong Kong government while intimidating others who might dare to follow them,” Brooks said, adding that they underlined “the dire state of Hong Kong’s justice system.”
US-based lobbying group Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) condemned what it called the government’s “all out assault… against decades of pro-democracy progress.”
In a Tuesday statement, HKCD’s Senior International Advocacy Associate Carmen Lau said those jailed on Tuesday “embodied the hopes and dreams of Hong Kongers yearning for political freedom.”
“They are not just political figures; they are our friends, colleagues, and inspiration,” Lau added, urging the international community to “stand in solidarity with our pro-democracy leaders.”
On Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin said Beijing opposed foreign countries interfering in Chinese affairs and smearing Hong Kong.
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