Three years after their prosecution in a landmark national security case, a group of 47 leading Hong Kong democrats – most of them behind bars – are still waiting to learn their fate.
Emilia Wong, the girlfriend of Ventus Lau, has visited him in prison every day since then. But the group is receiving “less and less public attention,” she said in a Facebook post on Wednesday marking the February 28 anniversary of the group being prosecuted.
“As media outlets were forced to close and time flies, I felt first-hand that those political prisoners are indeed gradually approaching social death, and there was less and less public attention, ” Wong wrote in Cantonese.
“Being in custody is not ideal, and visiting the prison is not ideal. But interestingly, suffering made us stronger and firmer, just like attending a gym and training muscles.”
The 47 were arrested and charged under the security law with “conspiracy to commit subversion” on February 28, 2021, over their roles in an opposition primary in July 2020 to pick candidates in the hope of winning a controlling majority in a legislative election expected later that year.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Beijing-imposed security law which took effect in June 2020, a few days before the primary.
Prosecutors allege that the democrats intended to abuse their powers – if they secured a majority – to indiscriminately veto government bills, with the aim of paralysing government operations and ultimately forcing the city’s leader to resign.
The trial began in February 2023, with 16 defendants pleading not guilty and 31 pleading guilty, with closing arguments last December.
Judge Andrew Chan said on December 4, 2023 that a verdict would be tentatively delivered in three to four months. However, he added that he could make “no guarantees.”
1,095 days in detention
Among all the defendants, 32 democrats have been detained since February 28, 2021, meaning they have spent 1,096 days behind bars as of Wednesday.
Fifteen were granted bail – which is much harder to secure in national security cases – but two of them were detained again in 2022 due to alleged violations of their bail conditions, and a third has been jailed over an unrelated rioting charge.
Wu Chi-wai, the former chair of the city’s largest pro-democracy party the Democratic Party, is among those who have been detained for three full years. His mother died on Wednesday, local media reported.
Wu has applied to the Correctional Services Department (CSD) to attend his mother’s funeral but it is not yet known whether he will be allowed to do so.
Wu applied for temporary release to attend his father’s funeral in 2021, but the request was denied. Wu then sought temporary bail from the High Court, and the application was granted.
Social media accounts for the figures involved in the trial have been updated relatively rarely over the past year. The Facebook page of Joshua Wong, a former student leader and founder of the now-defunct party Demosisto, has not been updated since June 12, 2023, when the page shared a letter he had written from prison on the city’s emigration wave.
Lester Shum, a student leader and former district councillor, has not updated his Facebook page since June 11, 2023 when he turned 30 – his third birthday behind bars.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
