Hong Kong court has sentenced 45 pro-democracy figures to jail terms of between four and 10 years, in the city’s largest national security prosecution since the law’s introduction in 2020.
The jailed are among the so called “Hong Kong 47” pro-democracy group, who were arrested and charged in 2021 over their involvement in an informal pre-election primary vote the year before.
They include some of the most public faces of the resistance to the Beijing-led crackdown on the pro-democracy camp of Hong Kong’s once-vibrant political scene. Some have been jailed before on activism charges. For many it is their first offence. Those involved in the primaries included activists, politicians, campaigners, social workers and community leaders who had been drawn to the pro-democracy movement after months of protest.
The 2020 primaries came just days after the introduction of the national security law (NSL) a sweeping piece of legislation imposed by the Chinese government to criminalise acts of dissent, sedition, and foreign collusion. Hong Kong minister Erick Tsang had warned that the primaries could violate it. But the organisers went ahead, taking a gamble that the pro-democracy movement could still find a way.
The group aimed to win a majority in Hong Kong’s parliament, the Legislative Council or LegCo, and then use it to block bills and force the dissolution of LegCo and the eventual resignation of the chief executive. National security judges found this to be an act of subversion.
Here are some of the most prominent members of the Hong Kong 47:
Benny Tai was accused by prosecutors of being a primary instigator of the primaries plan, and by Beijing of being a “vicious traitor”. A law professor and activist, Tai had previously been jailed over his involvement in the 2014 “umbrella movement”. He had published a manifesto outlining a plan to force the governments in Hong Kong and China to restore Hong Kong’s autonomy and democracy. The primaries, and winning at least 35 seats in the 70-seat LegCo, were part one of that plan. Tai pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Joshua Wong is a high-profile student activist and politician. The 28-year-old is in jail serving other protest-related sentences. Wong was among a group of young activists who gained prominence during the 79-day “umbrella movement” protests in 2014 that demanded universal suffrage for Hongkongers. They went on to co-found the pro-democracy Demosisto political party, and four candidates were elected to the Legislative Council but were disqualified for modifying the oath of office when they tried to take their seats. The party was formally disbanded after the introduction of the national security law in June. Wong pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years and eight months.
Claudia Mo was one of Hong Kong’s most outspoken democratic legislators, and founder of the Civic party. She is a fierce advocate for the pro-democracy movement and protesters. She resigned from parliament in November 2020, alongside the entire pro-democracy bloc, in protest against the Beijing-ordered disqualification of four colleagues. In a message on Facebook soon after she was charged, Mo told supporters “I maybe physically feeble, but I’m mentally sturdy … No worries. We all love Hong Kong yah.” She was denied bail in part because of WhatsApp conversations she’d had with foreign media. In jail, the 67-year-old has reportedly run language lessons for other prisoners. She was denied permission to visit her husband, British journalist Philip Bowring, when he was ill. Mo pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years and two months.
Gordon Ng is a Hong Kong-Australian dual national, accused of being an organiser of the primaries, which he denies. In an August 2022 statement posted online by an intermediary, Ng had said: “Do I think I have committed a crime? I don’t, I absolutely don’t. I am ready to face the largest battle of my life in the battlefield of court. I fear, but I don’t retreat.” Ng pleaded not guilty, and was sentenced to seven years and three months.
Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, 34, intended to run in the elections. The former reporter for Stand News grew to prominence during the 2019 protests, which she covered from the frontlines, livestreaming her reporting from Yuen Long station as gangs attacked protesters and commuters and then the reporter herself. She has previously said that she would not leave Hong Kong because “the cost of exile was more unbearable for me than anything else”. Ho, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to seven years in jail.
Leung Kwok-hung, also known by his nickname “Long Hair”, is a well-known activist and former politician. The 68-year-old was hosting a radio show before his arrest. In 2017 he was disqualified from LegCo after he and three other pro-democracy politicians modified their oaths of allegiance to China during a swearing-in ceremony. Leung had held a yellow umbrella – a symbol of pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong – while reading his oath. Leung pleaded not guilty to the national security charge. On Tuesday he was sentenced to six years and nine months.
Eddie Chu Hoi-Dick is a former LegCo member and social activist, who intended to run as a candidate. The 47-year-old was a prominent environmental and housing rights activist. In 2020 he was involved in several of Hong Kong LegCo’s frequent scuffles, and was later arrested over one of them. He had also been arrested over alleged involvement in organising one of the large protest marches in July 2020. In December that year he and a colleague resigned from LegCo in protest at Beijing’s one-year extension of the current legislative term. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Tuesday to four years and five months.
Carol Ng Man-yee, 54, is a former flight attendant and former president of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and Labour party member. She was an active labor advocate and was involved in the establishment of the British Airways union in Hong Kong. Ng had no criminal record, and had not run for election until the primaries, which she lost. On Tuesday the court noted that she had no criminal record, had lost the primary vote in which she ran, and had not attended any coordination meeting or press conference for the primary. It also noted that after her loss she didn’t say or do anything “in furtherance” of the group’s plan. She pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to four years and five months.
Helena Wong is a retired university lecturer and former LegCo member. In 1989 Wong co-founded one of Hong Kong’s first pro-democracy parties, the United Democrats, which later became the Democratic party. She was elected to represent Kowloon West in 2012. Wong was among seven Democrats (including Eddie Chu Hoi-dick) arrested over the LegCo fracas in 2020. She had run as a candidate in the primaries, but lost, saying afterwards that she would retire from LegCo and not contest her seat. Wong pleaded not guilty. She was sentenced to six years and six months.
