Hong Kong to sentence 45 activists in biggest security law case

HONG KONG – A Hong Kong court will sentence dozens of former democracy advocates in the city’s biggest national security case; This could be a move that would further deter dissent in the financial hub and draw condemnation from Western governments.

It will begin at 10am on November 19, nearly four years after former youth activist Joshua Wong, 28, and legal academic Benny Tai, 60, were arrested during an extensive police campaign that drew scores of opposition figures. The United States has called the case “politically motivated” and vowed to impose visa restrictions on officials responsible for enforcing Beijing’s national security measures.

Wong and Tai were among 47 activists charged with subversion under the China-imposed security law by holding unofficial primaries in 2020, when more than 600,000 voters chose candidates for Legislative Council elections. Hong Kong authorities claimed the incident was part of an illegal attempt to paralyze the government, while the Chinese government accused them of seeking a “color revolution”.

Mass arrests in 2021 have effectively silenced all of the city’s political opposition, and many of the defendants have been denied bail.

The landmark case, with Jimmy Lai’s trial set to resume on November 20, comes as Hong Kong hosts a summit with global financial leaders aimed at bolstering its status as an international financial centre. The sentence could further inflame the city’s geopolitical ties. America is weeks away from the return of President-elect Donald Trump, whose first administration imposed sanctions on Chinese officials over their assertive Hong Kong policies.

In May, the U.S. government warned that imposing harsh sentences would only “further erode confidence in Hong Kong’s judicial system,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in early 2024.

“These national security cases have already made their mark and will undoubtedly be even more impactful when the harsh penalties expected are reached,” said Mr. Michael Davis, global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.

“Hong Kong’s biggest appeal has always been its reliable rule of law and openness,” he added. “Due to such a decline in the rule of law, some companies are moving their offices, while others are reducing their offices.”

rise and fall

Wong’s sentence will mark the end of a remarkable political career that has made him the global poster boy for the Hong Kong democracy movement. A bespectacled high school student, he became interested in activism at 15 and helped block a plan to introduce compulsory patriotic education in Hong Kong schools.

Two years later, he rose to fame alongside Tai by leading a sit-in that brought the city’s struggle for democracy into the global spotlight. Thousands of protesters occupied the streets in the center of the city’s business district, carrying umbrellas as shields against police tear gas, earning the nickname the Umbrella Movement.

But while Wong has a greater international profile, Tai is accused of masterminding unsanctioned primaries and faces life imprisonment for organizing the elections. Wong, who is considered a participant, will face as long as 10 years behind bars. The least serious offenders are expected to be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison under the three-stage sentencing framework.

A new national security law passed in March dealt a blow to some activists who had hoped to be released soon after spending more than three years in prison before sentencing. The law, known as Article 23, makes it difficult for people convicted of national security crimes to receive a one-third sentence reduction for good behavior; This change is being challenged in the Supreme Court.

These cases come at a time of growing concern about the future of the rule of law in Hong Kong, following a record flight of foreign judges from the Court of Final Appeal, long touted by local authorities as a selling point for foreign companies.

UK Lord Jonathan Sumption resigned from Hong Kong’s top court in June, warning of “serious danger” to the envied legal system. Hong Kong rebutted Mr Sumption’s criticism and denied that the courts were under any political pressure from Beijing and local authorities.

In the case on November 19, 31 of the defendants admitted their guilt, while the other 14 defendants denied the charges and were convicted. Two of them were acquitted in May, ending a streak of convictions under the law since Beijing introduced it in 2020.

Others set to learn their fate include former MPs Claudia Mo and Leung Kwok Hung, better known as Long Hair, and journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho. BLOOMBERG