The final arguments in Hong Kong’s largest national security trial began yesterday, more than 1,000 days after authorities filed charges against 47 democracy advocates under a law imposed by China to quell dissent.
The defendants represent a cross-section of Hong Kong’s opposition — from democratically elected lawmakers to unionists and academics — which has been effectively squashed after Hong Kong’s National Security Law was imposed by Beijing in 2020.
The 47 defendants were charged with “conspiracy to subvert state power” and face up to life in prison in a case widely considered a bellwether for Hong Kong’s political environment.
Photo: AFP
They were accused of organizing, joining and supporting an unofficial primary election in July 2020 to coordinate candidates for the territory’s legislature.
Judge Andrew Chan (陳慶偉) said that the verdict would be delivered “tentatively three, four months” after the final round of legal arguments, which is expected to last 10 days.
Protesting outside the court, Alexandra Wong (王鳳瑤), a well-known activist nicknamed “Grandma Wong,” waved the Union Jack and held a sign reading: “Free 47, Free all.”
“I hope they can be released immediately. The 47 only wanted to fight for genuine universal suffrage for us,” Wong said. There were “no other motives, not to take the power.”
Prosecutors said the defendants planned to seize a legislative majority to force Hong Kong authorities to meet the “five demands” raised by protesters in 2019.
The demands included launching an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality against protesters and gaining universal suffrage in elections for the territory’s chief executive and lawmakers.
Prosecutors also say the defendants intended to veto the government’s budgets with the aim of forcing the chief executive to step down.
Lead prosecutor Jonathan Man (萬德豪) yesterday argued that the defendants should be convicted even if no violence was involved, as it had become easier for people to manipulate public communication channels to subvert state power.
“We are talking about a conspiracy to have legislators vetoing the budget indiscriminately,” Man said.
The national security legislation was “meant to be a strong law” and should not be narrowly interpreted, he added.
Randy Shek (石書銘), one of the defense lawyers, responded that the defendants were seeking democratic elections for Hong Kong’s leader and lawmakers in line with the territory’s constitutional text, not trying to topple the government.
“What they did was simply seeking to hold power to account, that cannot be subversive,” Shek told the court.
“They relied on a constitutional mechanism to bring about policy changes, that cannot be subversive,” he said.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
RSS