47 defendants were charged under the Beijing-imposed national security law for attempting to overthrow the government by running unofficial primaries.
Hong Kong court found 14 democracy activists and politicians guilty of subversion on May 30, 2024.
Some defendants face a maximum term of life imprisonment under the national security law.
The trial will proceed to its sentencing and mitigation phase when judges will consider the circumstances of each defendant.
Well-known figures such as Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Claudia Mo, Leung Kwok-hung (also known as 'Long Hair'), and others were charged for their involvement in an unofficial primary election held in July 2020.
In a landmark trial, a Hong Kong court found 14 of 16 democracy activists and politicians guilty of subversion on May 30, 2024. The defendants include well-known figures such as Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Claudia Mo, Leung Kwok-hung (also known as 'Long Hair'), and others who were charged for their involvement in an unofficial primary election held in July 2020 to select candidates for the Legislative Council elections. The remaining defendants pleaded guilty. Some of those considered 'primary offenders' or identified as leaders face a maximum term of life imprisonment under the national security law, while lower-level 'offenders' could be sentenced to between three and 10 years for active participation, and other participants could be looking at as long as three years in jail. The trial will now proceed to its sentencing and mitigation phase when judges will consider the circumstances of each defendant. The process is expected to take up to six months.
The defendants were among 47 people charged under the Beijing-imposed national security law for attempting to overthrow the government by running unofficial primaries. Many of them have been held in custody since their arrests in January 2021. Two defendants, lawyer and former district councillor Laurence Lau and social worker and fellow former district councillor Lee Yue-shun, were acquitted.
The trial brought into sharp relief the imposition of mainland legal concepts and laws into Hong Kong's common law system. Critics argue that it has stripped the city of its autonomy and freedoms, while Beijing defends the national security law as necessary to maintain stability in the Chinese territory.
The 47 defendants range in age from their 20s to late 60s and include some of Hong Kong's highest profile opposition figures. The trial is part of a crackdown on public dissent following the huge anti-government protests in 2019.
The Hong Kong 47 are 47 protesters and activists charged under the National Security Law in what was seen as the biggest crackdown.
Some of the Hong Kong 47 include well-known pro-democracy campaigners such as opposition lawmakers Claudia Mo, Helena Wong, and Kwok ka-ki, and icons of the 2014 pro-democracy protests Joshua Wong and Benny Tai.
Others among the Hong Kong 47 represent a new generation of vocal activists like Owen Chow and Ventus Lau.
Beijing defends the National Security Law as necessary to maintain stability, but critics say it has stripped the city of its autonomy and freedoms.
Accuracy
The Hong Kong 47 are charged under the National Security Law in what was seen as the biggest crackdown.
The primaries held in July 2020 were in defiance of Hong Kong officials and could have breached the National Security Law.
Some of the Hong Kong 47, including opposition lawmakers Au Nok-hin and Andrew Chiu, have pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution.
Sixteen of the 47 have pleaded not guilty and could be jailed for life if convicted.
More than a dozen democracy figures were found guilty of ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’ in Hong Kong’s largest national security trial to date.
Those on trial represented a broad swathe of Hong Kong’s democracy movement and most pleaded guilty. Sixteen decided to fight the charges, resulting in two acquittals.
The unofficial primary election held by democrats in July 2020 aimed to narrow down their best chances for candidates to win legislative seats. However, authorities considered it a ‘vicious plot’ intended to ‘paralyze the government and undermine state power’.
Thirty-two defendants have been denied bail since 2021, a highly unusual practice for cases that do not involve murder. Only fifteen were granted bail.
The trial of the ‘Hong Kong 47’ brought into sharp relief the imposition of mainland legal concepts and laws into Hong Kong’s common law system.
Accuracy
The primaries held in July 2020 were in defiance of Hong Kong officials and could have breached the National Security Law.
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council currently has no pro-democracy lawmakers, and upcoming district council elections do not feature any pro-democracy candidates.
Thirty-one defendants have been denied bail since 2021, a highly unusual practice for cases that do not involve murder. Only fifteen were granted bail, but two had their applications revoked later for breaching conditions.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The authors use inflammatory rhetoric by describing the defendants as part of a 'vicious plot' to subvert the city's government and undermine China's national security. They also make an appeal to authority by quoting Hong Kong and Beijing governments denying that the national security law is suppressing freedoms, arguing it has ended chaos and 'restored stability' to the city.
Those on trial represented a broad swathe of Hong Kong’s now dismantled democracy movement and most pleaded guilty during the prosecution process. But 16 activists and politicians decided to fight the charges, opting for a full trial which lasted for more than a year. Two were acquitted on Thursday and walked free from the court.
The Hong Kong and Beijing governments have repeatedly denied the national security law is suppressing freedoms, arguing it has ended chaos and ‘Restored stability’ to the city.
Those on trial, prosecutors and Hong Kong’s government argued, were part of a ‘vicious plot’ to subvert the city’s government and therefore undermine China’s national security.
Bias
(80%)
The authors use the term 'vicious plot' to describe the actions of those on trial, implying that they were engaged in something sinister and malicious. This language is biased and judgmental.
Those on trial represented a broad swathe of Hong Kong’s now dismantled democracy movement and most pleaded guilty during the prosecution process. But 16 activists and politicians decided to fight the charges, opting for a full trial which lasted for more than a year. Two were acquitted on Thursday and walked free from the court. The conviction of the Hong Kong 47 offers one of the clearest windows into how the national security law has rewritten the city’s political landscape, with a once-permitted pro-democracy opposition now decimated and dissent all but erased. Those on trial, prosecutors and Hong Kong’s government argued, were part of a ‘vicious plot’ to subvert the city’s government and therefore undermine China’s national security.
A Hong Kong court found 14 of 16 democracy activists and politicians guilty of subversion in the largest-ever trial under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
The remaining defendants pleaded guilty. Some of those considered ‘primary offenders’ or identified as a leader face a maximum term of life imprisonment under the security law.
Lower-level ‘offenders’ could be sentenced to between three and 10 years for ‘active’ participation, while ‘other participants’ could be looking at as long as three years in jail. Pleading guilty usually earns defendants a reduced sentence.
The trial will now proceed to its sentencing and mitigation phase when judges will consider the circumstances of each defendant. The process could take up to six months.
The 47 defendants range in age from their 20s to late 60s and include some of Hong Kong’s highest profile opposition figures such as Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Claudia Mo, and Leung Kwok-hung.
Accuracy
Some of the Hong Kong 47 include well-known pro-democracy campaigners such as opposition lawmakers Claudia Mo, Helena Wong, and Kwok ka-ki, and icons of the 2014 pro-democracy protests Joshua Wong and Benny Tai.
Those on trial represented a broad swathe of Hong Kong’s democracy movement and most pleaded guilty. Sixteen decided to fight the charges, resulting in two acquittals.
The unofficial primary election held by democrats in July 2020 aimed to narrow down their best chances for candidates to win legislative seats. However, authorities considered it a ‘vicious plot’ intended to ‘paralyze the government and undermine state power’.
Thirty-two defendants have been denied bail since 2021, a highly unusual practice for cases that do not involve murder. Only fifteen were granted bail, but two had their applications revoked later for breaching conditions.
A Hong Kong court convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city€7s biggest national security case under a law imposed by Beijing.
The conviction is part of the crackdown on public dissent following the huge anti-government protests in 2019.
Those found guilty could face up to life in prison.
Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist that the security law has helped bring back stability to the city and that judicial independence is being protected.
When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, Beijing promised to retain the city€7s Western-style civil liberties for 50 years. However, since the introduction of the 2020 law, Hong Kong authorities have severely limited free speech and assembly under the rubric of maintaining national security.
Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile following the introduction of the security law.
Accuracy
A Hong Kong court convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city's biggest national security case under a law imposed by Beijing.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several instances of Appeals to Authority and Dichotomous Depictions. The Beijing and Hong Kong governments are quoted making authoritative statements about the security law and its impact on the city, but these statements do not provide evidence or logical reasoning for why the actions of the pro-democracy activists constitute subversion. Additionally, there is a clear dichotomy presented between the Beijing/Hong Kong governments' interpretation of events and that of the pro-democracy activists. The article does not provide any counterarguments or evidence to challenge these interpretations.
But the Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the law has helped bring back stability to the city and that judicial independence is being protected.
, if they had reached their aims, it would amount to a serious interfering in, disrupting or undermining the performance of duties and functions in accordance with the law by the Hong Kong government.
Bias
(85%)
The article reports on the conviction of 14 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong under Beijing-imposed national security laws. The author does not make any overtly biased statements, but the subject matter and framing of the events lean towards a political and ideological bias against the Chinese government's actions in Hong Kong.
]Hong Kong court Thursday convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city’s biggest national security case under a law imposed by Beijing that has all but wiped out public dissent.[
Observers said the subversion case illustrates how the security law is being used to crush the political opposition following huge anti-government protests in 2019. But the Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the law has helped bring back stability to the city and that judicial independence is being protected.[
]those convicted could face up to life in prison.[
Hong Kong court will begin issuing verdicts on May 29, 2024 in the city’s largest national security trial against 47 pro-democracy activists and opposition leaders.
The defendants include Benny Tai, a former law professor, and Joshua Wong, a protest leader and founder of a student group.
If convicted, the activists face prison sentences for holding a primary election to improve their chances in citywide polls.
Accuracy
Those convicted will be sentenced later along with 31 others who had entered guilty pleas.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy as it states that the Hong Kong court will begin issuing verdicts on Thursday and that the judges were picked by Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader. This implies that the verdicts are biased due to the judges being pro-Beijing, but it does not provide any evidence or logical reasoning to support this claim.
The authorities use sweeping powers imposed by Beijing to quash political dissent in the Chinese territory.
The expected convictions and the sentences to follow would effectively turn the vanguard of the city’s opposition, a hallmark of its once-vibrant political scene, into a generation of political prisoners.
