The 14 convicted on Thursday will likely be sentenced at a later date together with 31 others who’ve already pleaded responsible – a few of them having turned witness for the prosecution – following mitigation hearings set to start on June 25.
Chief Govt John Lee Ka-chiu mentioned the decision was testomony to the dimensions and gravity of the case as he expressed the federal government’s willpower to fight any act that might endanger nationwide safety.
“On this regard, the Hong Kong authorities has the required legal guidelines, which it is going to strictly implement. The federal government will use its full efforts to stop, suppress and punish behaviours and actions that endanger nationwide safety,” he mentioned.
![Lawrence Lau was one of two defendants acquitted. Photo: Sam Tsang](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/30/40bdcff0-34a9-4ec1-8b0c-a5adc5abdd88_d5301715.jpg)
Greater than 1,180 days after the case was first dropped at trial, police had been out in drive for Thursday’s verdict and the court docket was full of spectators together with diplomats and representatives of Western governments which have been extremely crucial of the nationwide safety legislation.
Amongst those that had already pleaded responsible earlier had been activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and former Democratic Social gathering chairman Wu Chi-wai, who appeared in court docket to look at a stay broadcast of the proceedings.
Activists from opposition group the League of Social Democrats tried to stage a protest in opposition to the “false imprisonment” of the 47 however had been intercepted by police earlier than they may get close to the court docket constructing. Police later confirmed 5 members of the group had been arrested for disorderly conduct in public.
A few of Hong Kong’s most outstanding opposition figures had been amongst these convicted on Thursday, together with former lawmakers Helena Wong Pik-wan, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and “Lengthy Hair” Leung Kwok-hung.
Former district councillors Tat Cheng Tat-hung, Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying, Michael Pang Cheuk-kei, Kalvin Ho Kai-ming, Sze Tak-loy and Ricky Or Yiu-lam had been additionally discovered responsible, together with activists Owen Chow Ka-shing, Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Winnie Yu Wai-ming and Gordon Ng Ching-hang, who had promoted the so-called main with out becoming a member of as candidates.
The 2 who had been acquitted had their bail circumstances prolonged, together with a ban from leaving Hong Kong, after public prosecutions director Maggie Yang Mei-kei invoked a brand new authorized rule that allowed the imposition of bail circumstances in acquittal circumstances.
The court docket granted the prosecution’s request however rejected a last-minute bid for momentary launch by Michael Pang. He was remanded in custody alongside seven others who had been beforehand granted momentary launch till Thursday’s verdict.
In a 318-page written ruling, the three-judge panel drew explicit reference to the broader plot led by Benny Tai, the previous legislation professor already behind bars and a key determine amongst those that pleaded responsible earlier on this case.
The judges discovered that Tai’s conspiracy, if profitable, would have significantly interfered with, disrupted or undermined the federal government’s functioning as a result of substantial hurt to the “energy and authority of the federal government and the chief government”.
The court docket famous that if the opposition camp had succeeded in securing management of the Legislative Council and indiscriminately vetoed the federal government’s monetary blueprints in response to plan, the town’s chief would don’t have any selection however to resign, as a result of any utility for provisional funding can be equally blocked and the implementation of recent authorities insurance policies significantly hampered.
The judges, who heard the case at West Kowloon Court docket, dismissed the defence competition that the train of a lawmaker’s constitutional responsibility was coated by parliamentary privilege.
“Indiscriminate vetoing of the budgets or public expenditure launched by the federal government to compel the federal government to answer the 5 calls for [of protesters during the 2019 unrest] had all alongside been an act in violation of upholding the Primary Regulation, to not say if such acts had been accompanied with a view to significantly undermining the ability and authority of the federal government or the chief government,” they wrote.
The court docket harassed {that a} deliberate refusal by the vast majority of legislators to look at the deserves of presidency budgets constituted a transparent breach of their responsibility to safeguard nationwide safety and uphold the Primary Regulation, the town’s mini-constitution.
The conspiracy to dam budgets and compel authorities to accede to a particular political agenda would violate articles 73 and 104 of the Primary Regulation, which required the legislature to “study and approve” authorities spending blueprints and for public servants to abide by their oath of workplace, the judges dominated.
The court docket additionally hooked up significance to remarks made by a senior mainland Chinese language official in 2020 that “anti-China forces” had sought to paralyse the legislature and create “legislative and administrative means” to intrude with the federal government.
![Benny Tai was a key figure in the conspiracy. Photo: Winson Wong](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/30/b1ca705e-4123-44e6-80b8-d7eafc01e15b_fb09c016.jpg)
Individually, the three-judge panel snubbed a defence interpretation that any “illegal means” adopted to commit a subversive act should contain violence, ruling as an alternative that non-violent acts such because the promotion of Hong Kong independence and desecration of the nationwide flag may additionally undermine nationwide safety. One could possibly be discovered responsible of subverting state energy with out using drive, prison means and even consciousness that the means being adopted had been illegal.
A key issue within the court docket’s willpower of guilt was whether or not the defendants had promised to adjust to Tai’s plot by endorsing an internet declaration titled “Resolute Resistance, Inked with out Remorse”.
The judges mentioned the declaration represented the idea for cooperation among the many election candidates from completely different opposition events and constituted the “highest widespread issue throughout the spectrum of the resistance camp”.
The court docket additional held that every one individuals “knew completely properly” the objectives of the so-called main once they signed a nomination kind confirming their settlement in and assist of the “consensus” reached in a sequence of coordination conferences led by Tai earlier than the unofficial polling train.
The candidates needed to pay a deposit which might not be refunded in the event that they opposed the consensus, the judges famous.
The panel dominated that every one individuals grew to become events to the subversion plot after being made conscious of lawmakers’ veto energy and the aim behind it.
However the court docket was unable to determine whether or not Lawrence Lau had agreed to be a part of the conspiracy, because the judges highlighted his avoidance of social media, which was the primary channel of communication amongst individuals within the “main”, and the dearth of proof he had brazenly advocated indiscriminate vetoing of presidency budgets.
The court docket additionally discovered Lee Yue-shun, who was with the now-defunct Civic Social gathering on the time, won’t have been conscious of his social gathering’s endorsement of the web declaration as he was late to hitch its marketing campaign within the “main”.
![Defendant Lee Yue-shun (centre) was cleared. Photo: Sam Tsang](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/30/94ba0176-8d48-4156-badc-5eb622034dbd_d5301715.jpg)
Safety chief Chris Tang Ping-keung described the case as “a really unhappy story” by which there have been no winners.
He applauded the Division of Justice, judiciary and legislation enforcement for conducting their duties regardless of “smearing” by “exterior forces”, a reference to criticism from overseas governments and activist teams.
In Beijing, overseas ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning additionally weighed in, saying no one can be allowed to violate the legislation within the identify of democracy.
In distinction, Thursday’s verdict triggered a recent spherical of condemnation from the West, with a European Union spokesman saying the conviction of opposition members “marks an additional deterioration of elementary freedoms and democratic participation in Hong Kong”.
He described the prosecution as being “politically motivated” and mentioned the defendants confronted prison sanctions for “peaceable political exercise that ought to be legit in any political system that respects fundamental democratic ideas”.
The US consulate was “gravely involved” over the court docket ruling, a spokesman mentioned, alleging that the defendants had been prosecuted and jailed for “peacefully collaborating in regular political actions”.
The Australian consulate mentioned it was “deeply involved” as properly, noting that Gordon Ng, a kind of convicted on Thursday, was an Australian nationwide.