HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in the largest case under a national security law that critics say crushed political activism in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
The convictions of the 45 activists under the Beijing-imposed law are widely seen as part of a crackdown by China that destroyed hopes for a more democratic Hong Kong. They face sentences of up to life imprisonment.
The activists were among 47 people charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates. They were accused of agreeing to veto government-proposed budgets indiscriminately after securing a legislative majority to force a dissolution of the legislature and then the ouster of the city's leader.
Three government-approved judges ruled that the plan to achieve political change through the unofficial primary in 2020 would have undermined the government’s authority and created a constitutional crisis.
Thirty-one of the activists pleaded guilty and 14 others were found guilty in May following a trial. Two were acquitted. Those who entered guilty pleas have a better chance of shorter prison terms.
Some of the convicted activists have sought lesser sentences by expressing remorse and apologizing. Others have remained defiant.
Here are profiles of some of the leading activists.
Riding on a wave of anti-government protests in 2019, Benny Tai, a former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, co-organized the primary election that drew 610,000 voters — over 13% of the city’s registered electorate. The primary was aimed at selecting pro-democracy candidates who would then run in the official election.
The judges said Tai stated that acquiring a legislative majority was a “constitutional weapon of mass destruction" that would allow the pro-democracy camp to veto government budgets. Under the city’s Basic Law, or mini-constitution, the city leader can dissolve the legislature if a budget cannot be passed. But the leader must step down if the budget is again blocked by the next legislature.
The judges said Tai aimed to “undermine, destroy or overthrow the existing political system and structure” of Hong Kong.
Tai pleaded guilty to the charge. In seeking a shorter sentence, his lawyer said Tai always supported non-violence and believed his actions were legal.
Tai was not always viewed as a threat by authorities. He was a member of a consultative committee that helped collect views on the drafting of the Basic Law before the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
In 2001, the government awarded him a medal of honor for promoting civic education, though it was withdrawn in 2022.
Tai is perhaps best known as a co-founder of the city’s 2014 Occupy Movement, during which demonstrators occupied streets and brought traffic to a standstill in some areas for nearly 80 days, demanding direct elections for the city’s leader.
Joshua Wong rose to fame in Hong Kong in 2012 as a high school student leading protests against the introduction of national education in the city’s schools. Two years later, he became world famous as a leader of the Occupy Movement.
In 2016, Wong co-founded a political party named “Demosisto” with fellow young activists Nathan Law and Agnes Chow. In the 2019 pro-democracy movement, Wong helped seek overseas support for the protests. His activism led Beijing to label him an advocate of Hong Kong's independence who “begged for interference” by foreign forces.
Demosisto disbanded when Beijing imposed the security law in 2020. Wong won in the primary election, but the government postponed the official election, citing public health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wong has pleaded guilty and asked for a lesser sentence. His lawyer said he hoped “he could part with his history and would be able to reform himself” after completing it.
Wu Chi-wai is the former chair of Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, which some activists saw as too moderate. In 2006, the government awarded Wu a medal of honor for community service.
Wu entered a guilty plea, with his lawyer saying he has been in public service for over 30 years and that he and his party did not seek indiscriminate vetoing of budgets. Three former government officials wrote letters seeking a reduced sentence for him.
Wu's parents passed away during his detention and he could only briefly attend their funerals.
Gordon Ng, a dual citizen of Australia and Hong Kong, was initially named an organizer of the primary by prosecutors, an accusation Ng denied. He pleaded not guilty.
The judges acknowledged in their verdict that Ng did not organize the plan and was not a candidate. However, they pointed to his campaign urging voters to support primary winners through social media posts and a front-page advertisement in the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, founded by Jimmy Lai.
In seeking a lesser sentence, Ng said his support for the primary was linked to his belief that it could address the differences within the pro-democracy camp, which had long been plagued by infighting. He said he never asked candidates to promise to veto budgets.
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