Hong Kong jails 45 pro-democracy figures for subversion
Hong Kong has sentenced 45 pro-democracy figures, including former lawmakers and prominent activists, to prison terms of between four and ten years.
The sentences conclude a landmark national security case that critics say represents a decisive blow to the city’s political freedoms.
The convictions stem from the defendants’ involvement in unofficial primary elections held in 2020. Prosecutors argued that the primaries amounted to a plot to subvert state power by seeking to gain control of the legislature and challenge Beijing’s authority.
Among those jailed is Benny Tai, a legal scholar and one of the organisers of the primaries, who was sentenced to ten years in prison. Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong’s most internationally recognised democracy activists, received a sentence of more than four years. Former lawmakers, academics and campaigners were also among those convicted.
Hong Kong authorities said the sentences reflected the seriousness of the offences under the national security law, which was imposed by Beijing in 2020 following months of mass protests. Officials have repeatedly said the law is necessary to restore stability and applies only to a small minority who threaten national security.
Critics, however, described the case as the clearest signal yet that organised political opposition has effectively been criminalised in the territory.
One senior rights advocate said the trial marked the end of meaningful political pluralism in Hong Kong, adding that the primaries were a peaceful attempt to engage with the city’s electoral system rather than undermine it.
The 2020 primaries were organised by the pro-democracy camp to select candidates for a legislative election that was later postponed by the authorities. Prosecutors argued that a plan to win a majority and block government budgets would have paralysed the administration and forced the resignation of the city’s leader, which they said constituted subversion.
The defendants were among 47 people originally charged in the case, the largest prosecution brought under the national security law. Most pleaded guilty, while others contested the charges in a trial that lasted more than three years.
In April this year, several former lawmakers convicted in the case, including Claudia Mo, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan, were released after serving more than four years in custody. Their release was not accompanied by public comment from the authorities.
The case has drawn sustained international criticism from governments and rights groups, who say the national security law has eroded freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong under the one country, two systems framework agreed when the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
China’s central government has rejected the criticism, saying the law restored order after what it describes as violent unrest and foreign interference. Beijing insists Hong Kong’s judiciary remains independent and that the rule of law is stronger than ever.
Since the law came into force, dozens of civil society groups, media organisations and political parties have disbanded, while many activists have gone into exile or withdrawn from public life.
Hong Kong’s government says the city remains an open international financial centre, and that residents continue to enjoy rights and freedoms protected by law, provided they do not endanger national security.
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