Hong Kong's biggest national security trial concluded on Tuesday, with dozens of the city's most prominent democracy activists found guilty of subversion and facing possible life sentences.
The Chinese government imposed sweeping national security laws in the financial capital in 2020, quelling months of massive pro-democracy protests.
Western countries and international rights groups have denounced the trial as evidence of Hong Kong's growing authoritarianism.
The “Hong Kong 47” were arrested in 2021 after holding an unofficial election primary aimed at increasing the pro-democracy party's chances of winning a majority in the city council.
Two of the 47 were acquitted in May, but many of the others will be sentenced on Tuesday after spending more than 1,300 days in prison.
The lawsuit is the largest in terms of defendants since the law was passed in mid-2020.
Public interest in the trial is high in Hong Kong, with lines of people entering the West Kowloon Magistrate's Court starting over the weekend and growing to over several hundred people by Tuesday.
Police vans patrolled Tuesday morning, blocking the crowd and forming a line that stretched down the block and turned around. Police were seen searching several people.
Dennis, a former borough councilor, lined up at 4am to support those convicted, many of whom were his friends. Over the years, Dennis has been able to visit several friends in prison.
“I think quite a few of them are feeling pretty depressed about their future, so I feel like I have to come and cheer them on a little bit. Most of them won't be released, and quite a few of them will be released. I think he will have to face a long period of detention.”
On Wednesday, imprisoned media mogul and democracy activist Jimmy Lai will also testify in his conspiracy trial, breaking the silence he has maintained over five previous trials and nearly four years in prison.
The accusations against Mr. Li, the founder of the now-defunct popular Chinese-language tabloid Apple Daily, center on the paper's publications that supported the pro-democracy movement and criticized the Chinese government's leadership. There is.
China and Hong Kong say the national security law has restored order after the 2019 protests and have warned against “interference” from other countries.
Outside the courtroom, the line for seats to watch the verdict has grown since Saturday night, with many refusing to speak to the media.
Sethi, a retiree who joined the procession on Sunday, has been following the case since the mass arrests on January 6, 2021.
“I just hope they get a light sentence…I have no more hope than that,” she said Monday.
The purpose of the July 2020 election primary was to select a bipartisan shortlist of Democratic candidates and increase the chances of election.
If a majority was achieved, the plan would force the government to meet the demands of the 2019 protesters, including universal suffrage, by threatening an indiscriminate veto on the budget. .
Three senior judges handpicked by the government to hear security cases said the group would have created a “constitutional crisis”.
The 47 people comprised a diverse range of members of Hong Kong's once-vibrant political opposition, including former parliamentarians, trade unionists, lawyers, social workers and journalists.
The “main culprit” was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Benny Tai, one of the city's best-known constitutional and human rights jurists, was named by prosecutors as the “brains behind the project.”
Others named as “more radical” include former leaders of the now-disbanded Civic Party Alvin Yong and Jeremy Tam, young activist Owen Chow and former journalist Gwyneth Ho. .
The oldest defendant is “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, 68, co-founder of the city's last standing opposition party, the Social Democratic League.
Emilia Wong, the girlfriend of rally organizer Ventus Lau, said Lau seemed more anxious in recent months.
They hadn't discussed much about potential sentencing because “this is an unprecedented case,” she said.
“A long time ago, he said if his sentence was going to be 10 or 20 years, he shouldn't wait for release,” she said. “But life itself is fluid, so I don't think you need to make a decision now.
” [sentencing] That day may be an important milestone for the outside world, but for me…I just have to carry on with my normal life, visit him, and take care of his business. ”
with Agence France-Presse
