Hong Kong convicts 14 pro-democracy figures

A Hong Kong court has found 14 pro-democracy figures guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion under the city’s National Security Law.

Beijing imposed the law in 2020 – it covers crimes like secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign powers. But it defines the crimes broadly, and the city can use hand-picked judges (rather than Hong Kong’s usual juries) to decide cases.

The law and other measures quickly had a chilling effect on the city’s lively debate – the legislature is now made up of pro-Beijing loyalists, with most pro-democracy leaders in jail or exile. And that’s all despite China’s pledge to maintain ‘One Country, Two Systems’ when the UK returned Hong Kong in 1997.

These latest 14 convictions are part of a wider group known as ‘the Hong Kong 47’, arrested in 2021 due to their role in massive unauthorised primary elections. Defence lawyers argued that by pushing to elect pro-democracy representatives, the defendants were seeking to hold the state to account, not subvert it.

But prosecutors allege that, once elected, the plan was then to “undermine, destroy or overthrow the existing political system”.

Now, 1,240 days after their arrest, the court has delivered its verdict for 14 of the accused, with sentencing to follow. The maximum penalty is life in prison.

What about the 33 other defendants? 31 already took guilty pleas in exchange for a presumed sentence reduction. The remaining two – both ex-local lawmakers – were acquitted after the court found “the evidence was insufficient […] to be sure of their participation in the conspiracy”.

They’re now the first people in Hong Kong to be acquitted under this national security law, though the city’s justice department says it’ll appeal their acquittal.

So that’s that? 

One of the city’s few remaining opposition parties tried to protest outside the court, but police quickly arrested them, including the wife of one of the 14.

In parallel, Hong Kong’s police chief announced he’s still deciding whether to charge another eight people who were involved in the 2021 primaries.

And after all that, the world did what it did last time: made statements condemning Beijing’s push to “stifle opposition and criminalise dissent”.

INTRIGUE’S TAKE

There’s a growing list of things that were once common in Hong Kong but are now banned: whether listening to a protest song, sharing political opinions online, or attending a Tiananmen vigil. Even unofficial primaries had their history until the 2020 one came along and spooked authorities with its high turnout (610,000 people) and bold demands (democracy).

So in that context, this week’s verdict isn’t surprising, though we’ll be watching for two possible ripple effects.

The first is around citizen identity and sentiment in Hong Kong. 74% of adults there express an emotional attachment to China, while 82% still say democracy is a good way to govern. As authorities continue their crackdown, it’ll be interesting to see to what extent these two numbers start to diverge.

The second is around business sentiment, which took a beating through Hong Kong’s protests and Covid, while Beijing ran crackdowns on key sectors like property and tech. But some metrics are stabilising, and the city’s stock index has now rallied 22% this year. So it’ll be interesting to see whether this uptick is just a bear rally, a blip from Beijing’s latest market support, or if investors are shrugging off the crackdown so long as it doesn’t come for them.

Also worth noting:

• Beijing’s foreign ministry says it supports the ruling on Thursday, and no one should use democracy as a pretext for unlawful activity.
• One of the 14 charged on Thursday was a dual Hong Kong-Australian citizen, Gordon Ng. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the government has been denied consular access.
• We recently caught up with one of the pro-democracy figures who ran in Hong Kong’s unauthorised 2020 primary – Nathan Law. He shared what life is like in exile, and what he misses about home. For access to that special edition, simply follow the instructions below.