Four former student leaders of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), who originally faced one count of advocating terrorism, have pleaded guilty to a less serious alternative charge of incitement to wound with intent over a withdrawn meeting resolution to mourn a man who stabbed a police officer in July 2021.
HKU students Kinson Cheung, Charles Kwok, Chris Todorovski and Anthony Yung – aged between 21 and 22 – entered their guilty pleas before District Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching on Monday, after they reached a plea deal with the city’s prosecutors in a case under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
The defendants were originally set to face a eight-day trial for allegedly advocating terrorism, which could have landed the four up to 10 years behind bars if convicted. But prosecutors agreed to let the students plead guilty to the alternative charge of incitement to wound with intent, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison when heard at the District Court.
The case evolved around a HKU student union council meeting on July 7, 2021, when the student body passed a resolution expressing sympathy over the death of Leung Kin-fai, who took his life shortly after he stabbed a uniformed officer on July 1, when Hong Kong marked 24 years since its return to Chinese rule.
The authorities described the stabbing as a “lone-wolf local terrorist act,” adding people who mourned Leung’s death were encouraging violence and inciting hatred.
According to the prosecution, Cheung, who was chairman of the council at the time, led meeting attendees in observing a moment of silence for Leung’s “honourable sacrifice.” Kwok, then-president of the HKU student union executive committee, described Leung as a “martyr” who sacrificed his life for the city.
Following the passing of the motion, Todorovski, who represented Simon K.Y. Lee Hall at the council, said HKU students should remember the “sacrifice” of Leung and accused the police as “strangling Hongkongers’ expression of condolences.”
Yung, a representative of the Arts Association, praised Leung as demonstrating “the best side of human nature” for the purpose of “greater good.” He also said people who were described as terrorists by the Chinese Communist Party were in fact “heroes.”
The resolution was withdrawn around two days later, after the government and the university issued statements condemning the students for “beautifying blatant violence” and “glorifying violent attacks.” Kwok apologised publicly on behalf of the student council and said members of the student body would resign.
Cheung, Kwok, Todorovski and Yung were subsequently arrested and charged under the security law in August 2021. They were among the few defendants granted bail pending trial under the Beijing-enacted legislation, which imposes a stringent bail threshold.
Their guilty pleas came more than two years after four were first brought to court. Dozens of people gathered outside the District Court on Monday morning to show support for the former student leaders, who took photos with their family and friends before the hearing.
Among those in the public gallery were Fu Hualing of HKU’s Faculty of Law and John Burns, former dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Kwok wore a green tie printed with the logo of the HKU student union, which the Pok Fu Lam-based university ceased to recognise around a week after the controversial resolution was passed.
The student union council song was played in the courtroom on Monday as the prosecution played video footage of relevant meetings. Cheung, a fourth-year student studying government and laws, moved his head briefly in the dock, while Kwok, who it was revealed got married in February, mouthed the lyrics.
The judge took over the reading of the summary of facts from the prosecution, criticising the 13-page document prepared by prosecutors for containing “many grammatical errors.” It was “incomprehensible,” she said.
“The grammar of this summary of facts is so bad. I don’t even know how to start amending it,” she said, shaking her head.
The judge eventually convicted the four ex-student leaders based on their pleas and ordered them to return to court on Thursday for mitigation. The terrorism charge was dismissed, she said.
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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