'Hong Kong 47': 14 pro-democracy activists convicted of subversion in a historic mass national security trial

A court in Hong Kong found 14 out of 16 pro-democracy activists guilty on subversion charges. On Thursday, the court handed down the verdict on the region’s largest and most significant national security case to date.

The activists and politicians were found guilty of “conspiracy to commit subversion” for their roles in holding an unofficial primary election in 2020. Out of the 16, only two defendants, Lau Wai-chung and Lee Yue-shun, were found not guilty in the case.

Initially, there were 47 defendants in the case which was popularly known as the the trial of the “Hong Kong 47”. This was the largest single prosecution case under a national security law Beijing imposed on the city following mass anti-government protests, last year.

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The trial represented a broad swathe of Hong Kong’s now-dismantled democracy movement. When the case first came to court, most of the defendants pleaded guilty and decided to fight further charges. The full trial of the case lasted for more than a year.

How a strong Opposition decimated into an abyss

The conviction in the Hong Kong 47 case indicated the severity of China’s draconian national security law and how it managed to change the political landscape of the region. The once-permitted pro-democracy opposition is now decimated with voices of dissent being curbed across the city.

However, both the Hong Kong and Beijing governments have maintained that the national security law is not suppressing freedoms, arguing it has ended chaos and “restored stability” to the city. The Hong Kong regime argued that those who were found guilty in the case were part of a “vicious plot” to subvert the city’s government and therefore undermine China’s national security, CNN reported.

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Meanwhile, the supporters of these activists and politicians maintained that they were taking part in the kind of oppositional politics that was once allowed to flourish in Hong Kong.

Most of the 47 defendants have been jailed without bail since being charged in early 2021. Out of these people, 31 pleaded guilty with the hopes of getting their sentence reduced. 16 pleaded not guilty and fought the case further.

The 47 activists range in age from their 20s to their 60s and also include prominent names such as legal scholar Benny Tai, former pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo and Joshua Wong, who was one of the leaders of the pro-democracy protests that rocked the region in 2014.

The draconian law

Since the national security law came into effect in 2020, several civil groups have been dispensed and multiple independent media outlets were forced to shut down.

With authorities curbing the voices of dissent, the city’s legislature now comprises only pro-Beijing loyalists, while most pro-democracy figures are either in jail or in exile overseas.

Following the verdict, some family members cried in the courtroom while some defendants smiled and waved back, CNN reported. Hong Kong’s democracy activists are no strangers to courtrooms. Many of them have served time in the past.

With inputs from agencies.