Victoria, Nov 19 (Representative) A Hong Kong court has sentenced key pro-democracy leaders to years in jail for subversion, following a controversial national security trial, media reports said. Benny Tai and Joshua Wong were among the so-called Hong Kong 47 group of activists and lawmakers involved in a plan to pick opposition candidates for local elections. Tai received 10 years while Wong received more than four years. A total of 45 people were found guilty of conspiring to attempt subversion, after two people were acquitted, BBC reported. Their trial marked the largest use of the harsh national security law (NSL) which China imposed on Hong Kong shortly after the city’s explosive pro-democracy protests in 2019. Those demonstrations saw hundreds of thousands taking to the streets of Hong Kong for months. Triggered by a proposed government treaty that would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China, the protests quickly grew to reflect wider demands for democratic reform. Observers say the NSL and the trial’s outcome have significantly weakened the city’s pro-democracy movement and rule of law, and allowed China to cement control of the city. The US has described the trial as “politically motivated”. Australia said it had “strong objections” to the use of the NSL and it was “gravely concerned” by the sentencing of one of its citizens, Gordon Ng. Beijing and Hong Kong’s governments argue that the law is necessary to maintain stability and deny it has weakened autonomy.
They also say the convictions serve as a warning against forces trying to undermine China’s national security. “No one can engage in illegal activities in the name of democracy and attempt to escape justice,” China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It also said that it was “firmly opposed” to Western countries “discrediting and undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong.” The case has attracted huge interest from Hongkongers, dozens of whom queued up outside of the court days before the sentencing to secure a spot in the public gallery, according to media reports. Getty Images Heavy police presence is seen as huge crowds queue up for public gallery seats, ahead of a sentencing hearing for 45 pro-democracy activists, outside a court in Hong Kong, China, on November 19, 2024. Tai, a former law professor who came up with the plan for the unofficial primary, received the longest sentence with judges saying he had “advocated for a revolution”. Wong had his sentence reduced by a third after he pleaded guilty. But unlike some other defendants, he was not given further reductions as judges “did not consider him to be a person of good character”. At the time of the arrests, Wong was already in jail for participating in protests. In court, Wong shouted “I love Hong Kong” before he left the dock. After the 2019 protests dwindled with the Covid pandemic, activists organised an unofficial primary for the Legislative Council election as a way to continue the pro-democracy movement.