In Hong Kong’s most extensive national security trial, fourteen individuals from the “Hong Kong 47” pro-democracy group have been convicted of conspiracy to commit subversion.
Sixteen of the accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges related to organizing pre-election primaries.
These defendants were among those arrested during mass dawn raids by national security police in January 2021, and most have remained in custody awaiting trial since then.
The charges of “conspiracy to subvert state power” were brought under the national security law, which had been introduced just seven months prior.
On Thursday morning, the 16 defendants sat behind a glass panel in the courtroom as a three-judge panel began delivering their decision.
“After considering all the evidence and submissions, the court found [14 defendants] guilty of the charge,” the panel stated.
Two defendants, former district councillor Laurence Lau Wai-chung and ex-social worker Lee Yue-shun, were acquitted.
These two had also run as candidates in the primaries and are the first to be acquitted under a national security law prosecution.
Following the verdict, the court adjourned to give parties time to review the judgment and discuss potential applications.
Although the two acquitted individuals were permitted to leave the dock, the prosecution requested they remain on bail while considering appeals.
The remaining 31 defendants, who had pleaded guilty, are still awaiting the outcomes of their cases.
The judges decided to complete the trial for the not-guilty pleas before moving to sentencing.
The 10-month trial concluded in December, over 1,000 days after the initial arrests.
Starting Thursday, three national security judges are expected to spend at least two days delivering full verdicts for the 16 defendants, including dual Hong Kong-Australian national Gordon Ng and 15 other candidates.
Those found guilty face potential life sentences.
Observers began lining up outside the West Kowloon courts before midnight, hoping to secure seats inside.
By morning, the queue had grown to several hundred, including a significant media presence and heavy police security.
Grandma Wong, a well-known activist, demonstrated outside with a Hong Kong flag, shouting in protest.
One supporter, who arrived at 4am, told the Guardian, “I want to go inside to show my support [for the defendants].
This is a case about the election and I think the government is putting some unreasonable charges against them, and it’s not acceptable.”
The supporter, who declined to give her name for fear of identification, expressed no concern about attending court in support of the pro-democracy figures.
“It’s our right to have an open court and to go inside and listen.”
At least a dozen foreign diplomats, primarily from the European Union, were also present.
Matthias Kauffman, deputy head of the EU office, said they had been closely following the case.
“We observe trials to show our interest and commitment to human rights and democracy worldwide.”
Most of the 47 had been denied bail, including Jimmy Sham, praised as a “determined and resolute young man” for upholding the five demands of the pro-democracy protesters, and 65-year-old former legislator Claudia Mo, whose WhatsApp messages with Western journalists were cited as evidence of posing a national security risk.
The prosecution of the Hong Kong 47 has faced widespread criticism from foreign governments, human rights groups, and the defendants’ lawyers.
The arrests were seen as politically motivated, with accusations of procedural unfairness due to a judge-only trial and prolonged hearing dates with repeated delays.
The court system, already strained from the 2019 protest arrests, appeared to struggle with managing such a large group of defendants.
The pre-election primaries, held on 11 and 12 July 2020, were organized by legal scholar and activist Benny Tai, also an organizer of the 2014 “umbrella movement” protests.
Tai’s plan for the primaries aimed to gain a parliamentary majority and potentially force a government dissolution, which prosecutors argued was an abuse of power and a subversive conspiracy.
Days before the primaries, Hong Kong minister Erick Tsang warned that the event could violate the national security law, active for just over a week.
The primaries proceeded as in previous years, drawing over 600,000 residents in what many saw as a protest vote against the government.
More than six months later, organizers, candidates, and workers involved were arrested, with most subsequently released. A senior police official claimed the organizers’ plans amounted to subversion.
Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office called for severe punishment for Tai and prominent student protester Joshua Wong, labeling them as “the most vicious traitors.”
The crackdown has effectively eliminated active political opposition in Hong Kong, with many arrested, jailed, or silenced.
Numerous activists have fled overseas, with some facing charges.
The Hong Kong government has issued large bounties for several “fugitives,” prompting countries hosting exiled Hongkongers to revoke their extradition agreements.
Michael Mo, a former district councillor and academic now based abroad, stated on X before the hearing that organizing an unofficial primary should never be considered subversion.
“For people like us, who are living in exile, we should make those who stifled the city’s freedom pay their price.”
In March, the government introduced another national security law, known as Article 23, complementing the existing NSL.
This week saw the first arrests under this new law, involving six people accused of publishing seditious messages ahead of “an upcoming sensitive date,” according to police.
Next week marks the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, an event banned from public acknowledgment in mainland China but commemorated in Hong Kong until 2020.
