An Australian man is among dozens of activists sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on Tuesday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a sweeping law imposed by Beijing that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement.
The defendants were prosecuted in 2021 for their roles in an unofficial primary election under the 2020 national security law.
They were accused of attempting to paralyse Hong Kong’s government and force the city’s leader to resign by aiming to win a legislative majority and using it to block government budgets indiscriminately.
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The 45 convicted received prison terms ranging from four years and two months to 10 years.
Australian Gordon Ng was jailed for seven years and three months, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying the government is “gravely concerned”
“Mr Ng and others in the NSL47 were arrested in January 2021 for organising and participating in an election primary. Mr Ng was convicted under the National Security Law on 30 May 2024,” Wong said.
“Australia has expressed our 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.”
Legal scholar Benny Tai was given the longest sentence.
They either pleaded guilty to or were found guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion by three government-approved judges.
The judges said in the verdict that the activists’ plans to effect change through the election would have undermined the government’s authority and created a constitutional crisis.
Two of the 47 original defendants were acquitted.
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Observers said the case illustrated how authorities suppressed dissent following huge anti-government protests in 2019, alongside media crackdowns and reduced public choice in elections.
The drastic changes reflect how Beijing’s promise to retain the former British colony’s civil liberties for 50 years when it returned to China in 1997 is increasingly threadbare, they said.
Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the law is necessary for the city’s stability.
The subversion case involves pro-democracy activists across the spectrum.
They include Tai, former student leader Joshua Wong and former lawmakers.
Most of them have already been detained for more than three and a half years before the sentencing.
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The separations pained them and their families.
As they pleaded for lesser sentences, some activists were remorseful and apologized while others remained defiant.
Lawyers for Tai and several other defendants argued their clients genuinely believed their actions were lawful at the time.
More than 200 people stood in line in moderate rain and winds Tuesday morning for a seat in the court, including one of the acquitted defendants Lee Yue-shun.
Lee said he hoped members of the public would show they care about the development of the court case.
“The public’s interpretation and understanding has a far-reaching impact on our society’s future development,” he said.
A supporter locally known as “Grandpa Wong,” who did not know the English spelling of his name, said he wanted to see the convicted activists again.
He is about 100 years old and feared he wouldn’t be able to see them when they are released from prison.
Wei Siu-lik, a friend of convicted activist Clarisse Yeung, said she arrived at 4am even though her leg was injured.
“I wanted to let them know there are still many here coming here for them,” she said.
Thirty-one activists entered a guilty plea and have better chances of getting reduced sentences.
The law authorises a range of sentences depending on the seriousness of the offense and the defendant’s role in it, going from under three years for the least serious to 10 years to life for people convicted of “grave” offenses.
The unofficial primary in July 2020, which drew 610,000 voters, was meant to pick pro-democracy candidates who would then run in the official election.
The pro-democracy camp at that time hoped they could secure a legislative majority, which would allow them to press for the 2019 protest demands, including greater police accountability and democratic elections for the city leader.
But the government postponed the legislative election that would have followed the primary, citing public health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.