There was a “change of wind” among candidates in the primary election at the centre of Hong Kong’s landmark national security case after top Beijing bodies condemned former lawmaker Dennis Kwok, ex-journalist Gwyneth Ho has said.
Ho continued her testimony on Thursday. Ushered to the stand by two correctional officers, the defendant – wearing a pale pink t-shirt – smiled and winked at her supporters in the public gallery.
The 32-year-old is among the 47 democrats charged with conspiring to commit subversion in a case relating to an unofficial legislative primary election held in July 2020. Prosecutors have alleged that the democrats intended to abuse their powers as lawmakers, if elected, to indiscriminately vote down government bills and paralyse government operations.
Ho, a former Stand News journalist, was among the primary candidates.
Ho’s barrister Trevor Beel referred her to a statement that defendant Au Nok-hin had made during his testimony. The court heard that Au, who became a witness for the prosecution, said there was a “change of wind” in April or early May 2020 as primary organiser Benny Tai turned his focus to lawmakers’ power to veto the government’s budget.
Ho, testifying in Cantonese, said she believed there was a “change of wind” but she disagreed with Au’s explanation. She said the change came about after the “Dennis Kwok incident” – a reference to Beijing’s top organs the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Hong Kong Liaison Office accusing Kwok, an ex-lawmaker, of abusing his power to interfere with the legislature’s proceedings.
Kwok, who was at the time deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council’s House Committee, was said to have delayed the selection of the committee’s chairperson by filibustering in the legislature, which was dominated by pro-establishment lawmakers. The bodies accused Kwok of affecting the constitutional responsibility of the legislature as prescribed by the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.
Ho told the court that she attended both coordination meetings held for candidates running in the New Territories East constituency, one of the five geographical regions in the primary.
“I would say that some people who took part in the coordination meetings changed massively after the Dennis Kwok incident,” Ho said. “I understand the court may have a different view, but my understanding was that Kwok, while presiding over the committee at the time, was completely in compliance with the rules of procedure.”
Ho said that votes against the budget had been cast by lawmakers from the Democratic Party and the Civic Party – two of Hong Kong’s largest opposition parties – and it had not been seen as a controversial move.
“I think before the Dennis Kwok incident, nobody would think that… you could be disqualified [from running in the Legislative Council elections] for saying you would cast an opposition vote,” she added.
Ho and most of the defendants have been detained since March 2021.
‘Will actively use’
Thursday marked the third day of Ho’s testimony. The former journalist is the sixth defendant to testify, with activist Gordon Ng, ex-district councillor Clarisse Yeung, and ex-lawmaker Helena Wong choosing earlier not to take the stand.
The court on Thursday revisited the issue of wording in documents signed by the primary candidates. The matter- which has been raised multiple times throughout the months-long trial – relates to the use of the terms “will use” and “will actively use” to describe the pledge the candidates would make, if elected as lawmakers, to use powers conferred by the Basic Law, which include vetoing the budget.
Some documents contained the term “will use,” while others contained the term “will actively use.” Defendants have suggested previously that the former implies a greater degree of determination.
When Beel asked Ho how she viewed the distinction, she said: “I’ve been wanting to answer this question for a long time” while pointing at the defendants’ seats.
She said the word “actively” was election jargon, and that when one says they are “actively considering” running in an election, it is often taken as indicating that they would.
Ho added that she believed it was not important whether the word “actively” was included, but rather, what preceded the term. She said the full sentence described lawmakers using the powers of the Basic Law, which included vetoing the budget.
“As everyone knows, the Basic Law gives legislators a lot of powers,” Ho said, adding that she believed Tai’s thought when drafting the sentence was to describe what those powers included.
“But the power used doesn’t have to be [relating to] the budget. Simply put, he isn’t really saying anything with this sentence,” she said as laughter was heard in the courtroom.
Ho said that during the second meeting, she initially did not have many thoughts about the inclusion of the word “actively.” But after hearing defendant Owen Chow’s comments, who said he supported not using the word “actively,” Ho said she took his side.
Thursday marked the 88th day of the high-profile national security trial. The hearing will continue on Friday.
In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.
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