Hong Kong court convicts 14, acquits two pro-democracy activists

The court held on Thursday that they were guilty of conspiring to subvert the state’s power in violation of its 2020 national security law, according to Chinese state-run media. Originally authorities charged 47 pro-democracy activists with trying to subvert the government through participating in an unofficial primary election, according to Chinese state media. Only 16 pleaded not guilty.

Hong Kong authorities have indicated that they plan to appeal the acquittals of the two activists who were not convicted in this trial, according to the Hong Kong Free Press. Officials from Canada, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom in May of 2020 criticized Hong Kong’s national security law. The officials described it as a tool for eliminating dissent and curtailing the rights and freedoms of the people in the city.

The U.S. State Department in its 2023 Human Rights Report on Hong Kong noted that the city’s 2020 national security law prevented individuals charged under the law from receiving a fair trial. It also alleged that Hong Kong authorities have not always promptly notified individuals charged under the national security law of the nature of the charges against them, or brought them quickly to trial—both violations of the defendants’ rights.

Why were these activists participating in this unofficial primary election? The activists were trying to figure out which candidates they could vote for to achieve a majority of seats in the cabinet with the intention of using that majority to veto budget proposals, the Hong Kong Free Press reported. That would, in effect, force a government shutdown and the resignation of Hong Kong’s chief executive.

Why was this considered a “national security” issue? The U.S. State Department, in its 2023 report, said that the Chinese government had alleged foreign influence and foreign actors were involved in the unofficial primary incident. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday after the verdicts saying that it would do what it took to uphold the rule of law in Hong Kong. It also criticized what it characterized as certain foreign governments’ attempts to interfere in the city’s governance.

Who are these activists? Chinese state-run media identified those who were convicted as:

• Gordon Ng

• Tat Cheng

• Clarisse Yeung

• Michael Pang

• Kalvin Ho

• Helena Wong

• Sze Tak-loy

• Gwyneth Ho

• Raymond Chan

• Owen Chow

• Lam Cheuk-ting

• Leung Kwok-hung

• Ricky Or

• Winnie Yu

The Hong Kong Free Press reported that the two activists the court acquitted were: Lawrence Lau and Lee Yue-shun.

What has the rest of the world said about these convictions? The European Union on Thursday described the prosecution of the activists as politically motivated. It also criticized the lengthy pretrial detentions imposed on the activists. It added that the convictions called into question Hong Kong’s commitment to openness and pluralism.

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown’s conversation on The World and Everything in It podcast with Dean Cheng, senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace’s China program. They discuss a recent expansion of the 2020 national security law.