Scholar, lawmakers and journalist among Hong Kongers jailed / Photo: Peter PARKS - AFP
Scholar, lawmakers and journalist among Hong Kongers jailed
Hong Kong's largest national security trial came to an end on Tuesday with 45 pro-democracy figures jailed for holding an informal election over four years ago.
The defendants, who include some of the city's most prominent activists, received sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years for "conspiracy to subvert the state power".
The group reflects a broad cross-section of Hong Kong's opposition. Aged between 27 and 68, they include democratically elected lawmakers and district councillors, as well as unionists, academics and others, with political stances ranging from modest reformists to radical localists.
Here is a brief look at some of the defendants and their jail terms:
- Joshua Wong: 4 years 8 months -
One of the most recognisable faces of Hong Kong's democracy movement, the 28-year-old has been a thorn in Beijing's side for more than a decade after shooting to prominence during student-led protests.
The subject of a Netflix documentary that depicted him in a David-and-Goliath-style fight, Wong had been jailed more than once for his involvement in various demonstrations, including huge and often violent democracy rallies that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.
Wong on Tuesday shouted "I love Hong Kong, bye bye!" to the packed courtroom right before he was led away by guards.
- Benny Tai: 10 years -
A devout Christian law professor, Tai was previously jailed for helping lead peaceful democracy protests in 2014 and lost his job because of that conviction.
A non-violence advocate, he has embraced civil disobedience and is seen by authorities as the "mastermind" behind the primary election that sparked this case.
His idea was to unite Hong Kong's disparate democracy groups into a single coalition that could win a majority for the first time.
Halfway through the campaign, Beijing's new security law was imposed and the primary was declared an illegal attempt to subvert the government.
Tai, 60, pleaded guilty and was given a one-third discount to his prison term.
- Leung Kwok-hung: 6 years 9 months -
Over the years, avid Marxist and democracy campaigner Leung -- better known as "Long Hair" -- has been in and out of prison for his activism, first against colonial Britain and then China's increasingly authoritarian rule.
A stalwart figure at the city's rallies, he could often be seen at the front of marches, leading chants or songs critical of Beijing through his megaphone.
He and his wife, fellow activist Chan Po-ying, founded the League of Social Democrats as a more radical wing of the pro-democracy camp, advocating street action.
Leung, 68, pleaded not guilty, telling the court last year that there was no crime to plead to. "Resisting tyranny is not a crime," he said at the time.
- Claudia Mo: 4 years 2 months -
A journalist turned lawmaker, Mo was working as a correspondent for Agence France-Presse when she covered the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, a moment she cites as sparking her political awakening.
She helped found the liberal Civic Party in 2006 and won a seat in 2012.
Known as "Auntie Mo" to her supporters, the 67-year-old was arrested before dawn in 2021 while at home with her husband, the British journalist and historian Philip Bowring.
She was denied bail due partially to her exchanges with Western media being deemed a security threat, and had pleaded guilty.
- Owen Chow: 7 years 9 months -
Nursing student Chow was on the frontlines of the 2019 protests before standing in the democracy camp's primary.
A proponent of localism, a movement that focuses on Hong Kong's local identity and autonomy and tends to reject associations with mainland China, Chow refused to pledge allegiance to Beijing when he submitted his nomination form for the legislature election.
Chow, 27, published a statement on Tuesday calling on Hong Kongers not to lose hope, adding, "I see hope because even though I am far from the day of release, we have now seen the end point".
- Gwyneth Ho: 7 years -
Gwyneth Ho, 34, became a hero to the democracy movement for her hours of live reporting on 2019's protests.
She captured footage of government supporters attacking democracy activists at a train station, broadcasting even as the assailants turned on her.
She tried to run in the 2020 legislature elections but was among a dozen candidates disqualified for their political views.
She pleaded not guilty.
In a Tuesday statement, Ho said her trial took place in a "comical", "1984-esque reality", saying authorities had applied the label of subversion on democratic transitions of power.
M.Fierro--IM
