The 47 Pro-Democracy Figures in Hong Kong’s Largest National Security Trial
A court in Hong Kong convicted 14 pro-democracy activists on Thursday in a landmark political trial. They and dozens of other activists who had previously pleaded guilty now face potential prison time, highlighting the sweeping power of a national security law Beijing imposed to tighten its grip on the Chinese territory.
The trial centered on 47 opposition figures — politicians, academics and activists — whom the authorities accused of conspiracy to commit subversion. Here’s a look at who they are.
Joshua Wong, 27, became a prominent activist at age 14.
Benny Tai, 59, was a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.
Twelve were elected lawmakers, who had often used their presence in the legislature to protest China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Twenty-one had been elected district officials, including younger activists who were voted in after months of antigovernment protests in 2019.
Others were prominent activists who had worked on various social causes.
Lengthy Detentions Without Trial
The 47 defendants were charged in February 2021 with subversion for holding or taking part in an unofficial primary vote to select opposition candidates to run in elections.
Unlike other types of offenses, national security cases impose a high threshold for bail, which, in effect, lets the authorities hold defendants for months or even years before trial. Critics say that amounts to a presumption that defendants are guilty.
In hearings before the trial, 16 contested the charges and 31 pleaded guilty, including Benny Tai and Joshua Wong. On Thursday, the court in Hong Kong acquitted two of the defendants, Lawrence Lau, a barrister, and Lee Yue-shun, a social worker.
The charges carry prison sentences that range from less than three years to life.
The defendants and their lawyers are barred from commenting on the case. But legal experts say the democracy proponents are probably under enormous pressure to plead guilty because of the lengthy detentions, dwindling financial resources and the long odds of winning in a court modeled after China’s authoritarian system.
“The process is designed to be as painful as possible,” said Samuel Bickett, a lawyer and activist based in Washington, D.C., who was jailed in Hong Kong after scuffling with a plainclothes police officer in 2019.
The Transformation of Hong Kong’s Political Landscape
Starting in June 2019, Hong Kong was engulfed in widespread protests calling for greater freedom from China.. To quell the unrest, Beijing imposed a national security law in June 2020, days before the 47 democrats held the primary election that would lead to their arrests months later.
Most of the 47 have been jailed ever since. Their arrests effectively muted the city’s once-vocal opposition. China also imposed a drastic overhaul of election rules for Hong Kong that effectively barred pro-democracy candidates from running for seats in the legislature.