STALINISM REDUX
By AFP
November 18, 2024
Police keep watch outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court in Hong Kong during the sentencing of the city's most prominent democracy campaigners - Copyright AFP Peter PARKS
A Hong Kong court on Tuesday jailed all 45 defendants convicted in the city’s largest trial under its sweeping national security law, with “mastermind” Benny Tai receiving the longest sentence of 10 years.
Tai’s jail term is the longest yet handed out under the law, which was imposed by Beijing in 2020 to quash dissent after massive, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.
The group, which included figures from across Hong Kong’s once-diverse political spectrum, was charged with subversion after they held an informal poll in 2020 as part of a strategy to win a pro-democracy electoral majority.
Along with Tai, pro-democracy politicians Au Nok-hin, Andrew Chiu, Ben Chung and Australian citizen Gordon Ng were singled out as organisers and received sentences of up to seven years and three months.
Australia’s government said it was “gravely concerned” by the sentencing.
The other forty received terms beginning from four years and two months.
After Tai, the second longest sentence was handed to young activist Owen Chow, at seven years and nine months, with the court saying he “took a more proactive role in the scheme than other defendants”.
“Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, the 68-year-old co-founder of the city’s last standing opposition party the League of Social Democrats, received a term of six years and nine months.
– ‘ Refused to be tamed’ –
His wife and LSD leader Chan Po-ying told AFP outside the courtroom that the term was “within our expectations”.
“It is what it is — no matter (whether) I laugh or I cry so I choose to laugh a bit,” she said.
Leticia Wong, a former district councillor for a since-disbanded pro-democracy party who attended the sentencing, told AFP that she found the terms were “encouraging people to plead guilty and testify against their peers”.
“For those who refused to be tamed, punishment is obviously heavier,” Wong said.
Western countries and international rights groups have condemned the trial as evidence of Hong Kong’s increased authoritarianism.
China and Hong Kong say the security law restored order following the 2019 protests, and have warned against “interference” from other countries.
Forty-seven people were initially charged after they were arrested in January 2021, making this case the largest by number of defendants.
Thirty-one pleaded guilty, and 16 stood a 118-day trial last year, with 14 convicted and two acquitted in May.
– ‘Constitutional crisis’ –
The aim of the election primary, which took place in July 2020, was to pick a cross-party shortlist of pro-democracy candidates to increase their electoral prospects.
If a majority was achieved, the plan was to force the government to meet the 2019 protesters’ demands — including universal suffrage — by threatening to indiscriminately veto the budget.
Three senior judges handpicked by the government to try security cases said the group would have caused a “constitutional crisis”.
Anna Kwok, executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, condemned the sentencing as “an attack on the essence of Hong Kong – one that yearns for freedom, democracy and the right to political expression”.
Acquitted ‘Hong Kong 47’ defendant sees freedom as responsibility
By AFP
November 19, 2024
Pro-democracy activist Lee Yue-Shun, one of only two to walk away from the high-profile security case, attended the trial every day in carefully coordinated outfits -
By AFP
November 19, 2024
Pro-democracy activist Lee Yue-Shun, one of only two to walk away from the high-profile security case, attended the trial every day in carefully coordinated outfits -
Copyright AFP ISAAC LAWRENCE
Xinqi SU
As the massive trial of the “Hong Kong 47” democracy campaigners ended on Tuesday, an acquitted member of the group watched from the sidelines and felt the weight of his freedom upon him.
Former district councillor and street dancer Lee Yue-shun is one of only two people to have walked away from a national security law trial.
On Tuesday, 45 of his co-defendants were handed prison terms of up to 10 years for subversion.
It is Hong Kong’s largest prosecution under its 2020 security law, imposed by Beijing after huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.
“I find the situation (of being acquitted) quite hard to understand,” Lee told AFP in a series of interviews ahead of the sentencing.
“I think (the acquittal) gave me more responsibility — how can I make better use of the freedom I have not lost,” the 31-year-old added.
On Tuesday, Lee arrived outside court at 4 am (2000 GMT) to try and get a public seat.
“I come here today mainly (out of) a duty to show my concern for this important court case as a citizen,” he told AFP.
“I also want more people to notice the development and the conclusion of the case.”
– ‘Intention to subvert’ –
The 47 were charged after holding an unofficial election primary in July 2020, in a bid to make a shortlist aimed at gaining a pro-democracy majority in the legislature.
If victorious, they planned to force the government to meet the 2019 protesters’ demands — including universal suffrage — by threatening vetoes of the city budget.
Judges ruled they would have created “a constitutional crisis”, and 45 were convicted of subversion.
But Lee and another defendant, veteran lawyer Lawrence Lau, were acquitted.
Judges said they could not be sure Lee “was a party to the Scheme” nor that he “had the intention to subvert”.
Until the duo’s release in May, national security cases prosecuted under the 2020 law had a 100 percent conviction rate.
While Hong Kong’s legislature has been purged of opposition and scores of civil society groups have shuttered since the law’s passage, authorities maintain it restored order and stability after months of unrest.
“We have lost a lot of freedoms… All I can say is that the acquittal means I lost one less,” Lee said.
– Social justice vision –
Lee jokingly referred to himself as “a loser” — he struggled at school and failed to get into university first time round.
“But Hong Kong gave me a vision,” he said, and he decided to pursue a career as a social worker.
He first dipped his toes into politics as a student, working as a campaign helper for a pro-democracy party.
Lee soon caught the party’s eye as a candidate to attract young voters, and ran for district council at the height of the 2019 protests.
He was put forward in the election primary almost at the last minute.
He lost, but at dawn on January 6, 2021, was woken up by banging on his door.
It was the national security police.
“I couldn’t make sense of it at that time. I asked if many people were arrested. They said yes,” Lee recalled.
– ‘Come what may’ –
Lee was luckier than the others — he was granted bail after two weeks, whereas most of the 47 have been detained since that day.
Even so, stringent bail conditions kept him “trapped” in Hong Kong for nearly 1,200 days.
His passport was seized, and he was banned from speaking publicly in any way deemed to endanger national security.
“Over these three years — which I would describe as a test — I had been emphasising this: I would not let my life be destroyed,” Lee said.
“Until the last moment before the ruling, I had been thinking: ‘Come what may, there are still things I want to carry on’.”
Lee threw himself into street dance and boxing, and appeared at every trial day in carefully coordinated outfits.
He also completed a law programme, with his final thesis analysing the conspiracy charge in common law — using his own case as an example.
Two weeks after his acquittal, Lee retrieved his passport from the court, and in early July, he renewed his social worker licence.
“I will now make more active and better use of this basic right (of movement) to further develop myself… to encourage more and different people here,” he said.
Written By AFP
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Xinqi SU
As the massive trial of the “Hong Kong 47” democracy campaigners ended on Tuesday, an acquitted member of the group watched from the sidelines and felt the weight of his freedom upon him.
Former district councillor and street dancer Lee Yue-shun is one of only two people to have walked away from a national security law trial.
On Tuesday, 45 of his co-defendants were handed prison terms of up to 10 years for subversion.
It is Hong Kong’s largest prosecution under its 2020 security law, imposed by Beijing after huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.
“I find the situation (of being acquitted) quite hard to understand,” Lee told AFP in a series of interviews ahead of the sentencing.
“I think (the acquittal) gave me more responsibility — how can I make better use of the freedom I have not lost,” the 31-year-old added.
On Tuesday, Lee arrived outside court at 4 am (2000 GMT) to try and get a public seat.
“I come here today mainly (out of) a duty to show my concern for this important court case as a citizen,” he told AFP.
“I also want more people to notice the development and the conclusion of the case.”
– ‘Intention to subvert’ –
The 47 were charged after holding an unofficial election primary in July 2020, in a bid to make a shortlist aimed at gaining a pro-democracy majority in the legislature.
If victorious, they planned to force the government to meet the 2019 protesters’ demands — including universal suffrage — by threatening vetoes of the city budget.
Judges ruled they would have created “a constitutional crisis”, and 45 were convicted of subversion.
But Lee and another defendant, veteran lawyer Lawrence Lau, were acquitted.
Judges said they could not be sure Lee “was a party to the Scheme” nor that he “had the intention to subvert”.
Until the duo’s release in May, national security cases prosecuted under the 2020 law had a 100 percent conviction rate.
While Hong Kong’s legislature has been purged of opposition and scores of civil society groups have shuttered since the law’s passage, authorities maintain it restored order and stability after months of unrest.
“We have lost a lot of freedoms… All I can say is that the acquittal means I lost one less,” Lee said.
– Social justice vision –
Lee jokingly referred to himself as “a loser” — he struggled at school and failed to get into university first time round.
“But Hong Kong gave me a vision,” he said, and he decided to pursue a career as a social worker.
He first dipped his toes into politics as a student, working as a campaign helper for a pro-democracy party.
Lee soon caught the party’s eye as a candidate to attract young voters, and ran for district council at the height of the 2019 protests.
He was put forward in the election primary almost at the last minute.
He lost, but at dawn on January 6, 2021, was woken up by banging on his door.
It was the national security police.
“I couldn’t make sense of it at that time. I asked if many people were arrested. They said yes,” Lee recalled.
– ‘Come what may’ –
Lee was luckier than the others — he was granted bail after two weeks, whereas most of the 47 have been detained since that day.
Even so, stringent bail conditions kept him “trapped” in Hong Kong for nearly 1,200 days.
His passport was seized, and he was banned from speaking publicly in any way deemed to endanger national security.
“Over these three years — which I would describe as a test — I had been emphasising this: I would not let my life be destroyed,” Lee said.
“Until the last moment before the ruling, I had been thinking: ‘Come what may, there are still things I want to carry on’.”
Lee threw himself into street dance and boxing, and appeared at every trial day in carefully coordinated outfits.
He also completed a law programme, with his final thesis analysing the conspiracy charge in common law — using his own case as an example.
Two weeks after his acquittal, Lee retrieved his passport from the court, and in early July, he renewed his social worker licence.
“I will now make more active and better use of this basic right (of movement) to further develop myself… to encourage more and different people here,” he said.
Written By AFP
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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